An Agent of Chaos
by My Purple Skies
Summary: Samantha Reads is haunted by a ghost from her past. During high school he had annoyed Samantha to no end. She always knew he'd turn into something terrible... she just didn't know that something would be the Joker. "Smile for me, Samantha." Rated T for psychotic behavior, violence, and menace.
1. Chapter 1

**(Okay; this story is my baby. Make my baby cry and I will hurt you. Got it? I'm just joking. Seriously though, I put a lot of work into this story and I hope that you'll enjoy it. Now, this first chapter is set during the year 1996 and then the next chapter flashes forward to 2008. Get it? Got it? Good. Whenever I hear the song 'Secret' by The Veronicas I can't help but think of my character, Samantha, during her teen years. Hope you enjoy this story!)**

Chapter One

August 12th, 1996

"Bad news."

That's the first thing that came to Samantha Reads' mind when she first saw him. The second thing was his smile. It was an amazing smile, but it was also unsettling. He had to be around seventeen. He was thin, but not scrawny. Lean was more like it. Blond hair, deep brown eyes, and _very_ tall. His voice was a little uneven in pitch, like he was still growing into it, and when he laughed it sounded strange; unique. He was always smiling like he had a trick up his sleeve. Another thing about him was that he kept running his tongue over his lips every now and then or constantly.

The day their paths crossed was in August 12th, 1996. Principal Gibbs pulled Samantha aside on the first day of school during her senior year and motioned to the boy that was with him. "I want you to meet Allan Jordan. He's new to the school but I'm really busy at the moment, so could you be a dear and show him to all of his classes. Give him a tour of the school if you could?"

"Sure, Mr. Gibbs," Samantha replied with a smile. Allan, who had been lazily leaning against the wall by the door to the principal's office, suddenly stood a little straighter and raised an eyebrow. He liked her smile.

When Principle Gibbs left, Allan waited until the man was out of sight before he turned to Samantha and grinned, devilishly. "Alone at last," he said.

Samantha smiled and tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear. "Can I see your schedule?" she asked, holding her hand out for it.

"Why? Wanna date?" Allan chuckled.

She forced the smile to stay on her face. Inside her head she groaned. _"Not one of these crack pots…,"_ she thought.

"So we can figure out where your classes are," Samantha explained. Allan was still smiling when he handed her the sheet of paper that had been sticking out of his back pocket. She scanned over it and her eyes widened. She checked it twice, three times, four times…. but what she saw stayed the same. Allan had _all_ of her classes.

"_Greeaat," _Samantha thought with some annoyance.

"We have all our classes together," she told him.

"Then I guess we'll be seeing each other often." Allan placed an arm around her shoulder and stretched the other arm out in front of them, like he was envisioning something. "You and me, classmates all year; that is, if you can stand me. Oh, just think of the fun!"

Samantha shrugged off his arm but kept smiling. "Yeah; a barrel of laughs. Follow me," she said in a light voice.

"You better believe I will."

Samantha rolled her eyes and led Allan to a flight of stairs.

"You know, I haven't heard your name yet."

"I'll tell you when I feel like it." Wow. That had come out sounding harsh. _"What's the matter with you Samantha?" _

Allan let out a quick laugh. "Then I'll just call you 'Pretty Girl' until I find out."

"_Oh heck no." _Samantha stopped climbing the steps and turned to face him. "No, that's not my name. I'd rather you whistled to get my attention." She turned back to continue climbing just as Allan let out a wolf whistle. She spun around and frowned at him, debating on whether to laugh it off or let it go.

Allan seemed to be studying her eyes intently. "You know," he wet his lips, "I've never really seen green eyes before… I mean, I've seen blue/green, grey/green, _gangrene_." He chuckled at his little joke, but Samantha wrinkled her nose in slight disgust. "But I've never really seen green/green. I kinda like that color. Sooo, why don't I call youuu 'Esmeralda'?"

Samantha tilted her head to the side, curious but not wanting to show it. "Why?"

Allan climbed a step closer to Samantha and leaned against the wall with his left shoulder. He stuck his hands in his pockets. "It's Spanish for 'emerald'; which is precisely what shade of green," he brought out his right hand from his pocket and pointed at her, "you have." He suddenly started to walk up the stairs, passing Samantha.

Samantha was still for the moment. Nobody had ever described what shade of green her eyes were. It was…weird. She was shaken from her thoughts when Allan called out to her. "Come on, Esmeralda; I need you to be my guide."

Samantha hurried to catch up before he got himself lost.

…

English class was first on the list. When they got to class, Allan was seated three chairs behind Samantha. At least he wasn't beside her. He had been saying weird things to her the entire walk to class and she needed a break from Allan.

The teacher began to call out names and got to the 'J's.

"Allan Jordan?"

His long arm shot up in the air while the rest of him remained in a relaxed slouch in his desk. "Right here!"

"Welcome to our school." She went down the list and came to Samantha.

"Samantha Reads?"

"Here."

Allan gave a squeal of delight. "Oh! So your name's Samantha, hm?"

"Mr. Jordan, if you could please refrain from making outbursts like that, I think you'll do well in this class," the teacher warned him.

Allan smiled slyly at the woman. "My apologies," he said smoothly. He settled in his desk and caught Samantha staring at him. He winked at her and licked his lips.

Samantha shook her head and sighed as she turned to face the front of the class.

"_You'll live through it," _she told herself. _"Or not…"_

…

During lunch, Samantha sat with her two best friends, Alice Fredricks and Harleen Quinzel. She had just finished telling them about her experience with Allan Jordan and was slightly miffed when they giggled at her.

Harleen had caught a glimpse of Allan that morning during class changes and had a different opinion about him. "I think he's hot," she said before biting into the cafeteria's poor excuse of a turkey. She made a face and looked at her meal critically, pushing the tray away from her. Adjusted the band holding her brown hair in a ponytail, Harleen focused her blue eyes on Samantha. "Like, Smokin', lava _hot_."

"Really?" Samantha asked.

"I think so too," Alice chimed in.

Samantha and Harleen looked at Alice in surprise. Alice Pleasance Fredricks was the shyest girl you could ever find, so it was surprising that she voiced her opinion like that.

Harleen threw her hands up into the air. "What's _this_? Alice has _hormones_?" she said with mock shock.

"Oh just think of the scandal when the rest of the school finds out," Samantha joked.

Alice's light blue eyes widened and she blushed in embarrassment.

"So, you don't think he's hot, Sammy?" Harleen asked, her thick Brooklyn accent showing through with every word.

"I think he's…cute."

Her friends eyed her in a way that said, "Oh _please_, you liar."

"Okay, okay. He's a handsome guy , but he's driving me _crazy_."

"Oh Sammy, come on; lighten up. He can't be that bad."

"Harley, he is _so_ annoying! And you haven't had to be the one to put up with him all day!"

"I'm sorry, but I wasn't given that _honor_," Harley giggled, elbowing Samantha in the ribs.

If Samantha had thought Allan couldn't get any stranger, she had been proven wrong with every passing moment. And it wasn't just an awkward strange or weirdness, it was kinda creepy. Things that he said, his opinions, were a bit twisted. Maybe he was joking with her? It was hard to tell, but lunch time was a welcomed separation from him.

Samantha sighed, heavily, and rested her elbow on the table, chin in hand. A moment later, she felt something running up her spine, causing her to jump and yelp. She heard a strange sounding laugh and turned in her seat to see Allan holding his lunch tray in one hand and the other hand's index finger tracing her backbone.

"Gooood evening, ladies," he greeted. His tongue darted along his bottom lip as he plopped down in the empty seat next to Samantha.

Samantha rubbed her eyes in frustration. _"This is not happening to me, this is not happening to me,"_ she repeated in her mind. Did he think they were friends? Maybe, considering she was showing him around the school all day.

"Sooo who are these lovely ladies?" Allan asked when he noticed Alice and Harleen.

Alice smiled shyly. "I'm Alice Fredricks; Samantha's best friend since kindergarten."

"And I'm Harleen Quinzel, but you can call me Harley; everyone does."

Allan flashed them a charming grin. Geez… wow. That was a heart stopper right there. "Thrilled to meet you, Alice. And you too, Harley."

Alice and Harley both blushed! They blushed! Samantha couldn't believe them. _"Weeell, actually, I mean- did you __see __that smile? __**Oh shut up, nobody asked you, Brain.**__" _

"I have a feeling that you'd be great in drama class. Are you in one?" Alice asked.

"_Unfortunately, yes; __**my**__ drama class. And every other class!"_

"Yeah, I'm in Esmeralda's drama class," Allan answered.

Harleenand Alice looked confused. "Esmeralda?" Alice repeated.

Allan draped an arm around Samantha and she stiffened like someone had poured ice water down her shirt. "It's the nickname I gave 'emerald eyes' here, because she wouldn't tell me her name," Allan explained with a playful pout. Samantha's face burned.

"Awww, that's so cute!" Harley said in a dreamy voice.

"_This cannot be the same girl who wants to be a psychiatrist." _

"Harley, get a hold of yourself."

"Ah, lighten up, Samantha. Smile for me." Allan leaned in close to her. Too close. And his hand was brushing up against the side of her leg. It wasn't on purpose; it was just that he had placed both hands on his seat and that's where it landed. Samantha didn't like the close proximity. There was something very wrong about Allan. But what?

"Get off of me," Samantha said through clenched teeth.

"What was that?" Allan asked, bringing his head close to hers to listen.

Samantha's anger rose and broke free. "Get off of me!" she screamed in his ear. She grabbed her milk carton and splashed it in his face. Allan removed his arm and went to wipe the milk from his face as Samantha stood up.

"Come on you two, let's leave this freak," she said and left the table. Alice and Harley looked uncertain about what to do but followed Samantha anyway.

"See ya in science!" Allan called out in a sing-song voice. Lots of students were giving curious glances as the three friends walked out of the cafeteria. Samantha did her best to ignore them.

…..

Samantha put her head against the cool metal of her locker door. She always tried to get to know a person before she wrote them off, and this guy, even if he was cute, was someone she did not want to know.

"What happened back there?" Alice asked.

"I told you, he's been trying my nerves."

"But you've never _drenched _a person with milk before," Harleen pointed out.

Samantha sighed through her nose, already feeling beyond guilty about what she had done to Allan. She was really shocked at herself.

"Oh my gosh! Harley! Samantha! It's Boy Billionaire, Bruce Wayne! He's heading this way!" Alice whispered urgently.

Samantha glanced up and saw Alice was right. Bruce Wayne, the richest guy in school – no, the richest person in the_ city_, was walking down the hallway. He had inherited his wealth after his parents were murdered right in front of him many years ago when he was just a kid. Samantha couldn't help but feel sorry for him. She looked back at Alice and Harley.

"That's nice; now leave the rich boy alone."

Harley made a face but obeyed.

"Ugh… I shouldn't have done that to Allan," Samantha said after a moment.

"Ya think?" Harley asked sarcastically.

"You're not helping." Samantha gnawed on her thumbnail and ran her fingers through her hair. She groaned and closed her eyes. _"I've got to go apologize." _

Alice happened to look up and see Bruce was heading directly towards them. She cleared her throat to alert Samantha. "A-a-a-ahem."

Samantha lifted her head from the locker and found Bruce looking directly at her. He seemed a little concerned. "Are you alright?" he asked.

She was confused as to why the richest person in Gotham, was worried about her. "I'm fine… I just have to apologize to someone I don't like."

"Oh, well… good luck on that," Bruce chuckled and continued on his way down the hall.

Alice and Harley's mouths hung open as they stared at the retreating back of Bruce. Harley turned to Samantha. "Why can't I be like you?" she whined.

"Huh?"

"You know, act like I don't care around cute boys."

Samantha cocked an eyebrow and let a small smile grace her lips. The smile faded as she sighed again and let the back of her head thump against the locker. "I'm going to go find Allan and apologize."

Alice gave a thumb up. "Do your thing," she said.

Just then the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch and the start of the next class; which for Allan and Samantha was science. She waved good-bye to her friends and headed off. When she went inside, she found him with his feet propped upon a desk in front of him and his hands behind his head. Allan gave a grin and winked when he saw her. Who did this guy think he was?

"_Do I really have to apologize to him?" _Samantha knew the answer to that. _"Yes."_

She sat in her desk next to Allan. A few seconds of silence passed as she argued internally with herself, but in the end, her guilt won. "I'm sorry for screaming and pouring milk on you," she whispered.

Allan locked eyes with her and in that moment, she knew. That's when she saw it. Looking into those brown eyes of his, she saw the evil. And it scared her. It was like she couldn't look away. Allan's eyes were so dark, they almost seemed black. Black and consuming. That's what made his smile so unsettling. The smile never reached his eyes. Such _dark_ eyes.

Allan said nothing, only smiled and looked away. Samantha felt shaky and she couldn't concentrate on the lesson the teacher was going over. At that instant, she decided that when the school year was over, she would have nothing to do with Allan Jordan; that was her decision.

…..…

At the end of the day, Samantha ran out of drama class and to her car. Harleen and Alice were standing next to the vehicle, waiting as usual.

"Did you apologize?" Alice asked.

"Yes."

"Hey, are you okay?" Harley asked, looking closely at Samantha.

"Yeah; why?"

"You look kinda shaky, scared even."

Samantha looked down at her hands to see they were shaking. She held onto her notebook to stop the trembling. "It's nothing."

"Okie-dokie," Harley chirped. The subject was dropped as the girls discussed how their first day as senior high school students had gone. Alice and Harley soon left her and Samantha turned to unlock the car door. She felt her heart leap when she saw Allan right behind her, dropping her notebook in surprise.

Allan bent over and picked up the notebook. "You didn't stick around to say good-bye," he pouted in a fake, hurt voice.

"I can't stick around when I have to go to work." Samantha reached for her notebook but Allan held onto it.

"Oh really? Where do you work?"

"It's none of your business." Samantha reached for the book again and Allan moved out of her reach.

"You hurt me real bad," Allan said laughing.

This time Samantha lunged for the notebook. Allan held the notebook up as high as his arm let him go, which was really unfair due to his long arms. She ran into him and he immediately wrapped his arms around her like a boyfriend would do with his girlfriend.

"Dude, what is up with you?" Samantha yelled. Allan only licked his lips and laughed like the maniac she suspected him to be. She punched him in the gut and he let go, doubling over and holding his stomach with one arm. Samantha didn't care about the notebook now. She got into her car and drove off.

Allan straightened up and watched her go. "What a gal," he sighed in a fake, dreamy tone. Opening the notebook, he glanced through it, and snapped it closed with a grin on his face. He'd find a way to return it to her.

…

Samantha was so glad to get away from Allan. Her heart was pumping so hard, she could hear it.

No way could she work today, she just couldn't. She had so much homework to do. Oh yeah, she could feel that Senioritis kicking in.

Her job was being a waitress at her favorite restaurant, The Green Willows. Samantha didn't plan on being a waitress for long; she wanted to be a nurse. Samantha was taking all the right classes for the career of a nurse, but she couldn't get a job related to nursing. No one was hiring at the moment; the waitress job was. She couldn't complain. Her boss, Mr. Samuels, was a good man and fair to his workers.

When Samantha got to her apartment complex, she hurried up the stairs to the third floor and to her door. The moment she was inside, she locked the door behind her. Samantha put her back to the door and sighed.

"Sam, is that you?" her dad called.

"Yeah, it's me," she replied and headed for her bedroom. "I've got a lot of homework to do. Could ya let me know when dinner's ready?"

"Sure thing, honey."

Samantha opened the door to her bedroom and launched herself, belly-flop style, onto her bed. "What a day," she moaned. She couldn't remember the first day of a new school year ever being so tiring. Well, none of those days had had Allan Jordan tagging along with her.

Samantha rolled over onto her back and grabbed her own private phone that was on her nightstand. "Better let Mr. Samuels know I can't come in," she said to herself as she dialed his number.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mr. Samuels, it's Samantha."

"Hi, kid; running late?"

"No sir, I can't go to work today."

"Why, are you sick? Did something happen?" Samuels asked, concerned.

"Sort of. It's a major sickness called senior homework. It's common among most high school students." Samantha could hear Mr. Samuels laughing on the other end of the line.

"Well, you have more than enough_ sick _days to take off for."

"Thanks, Mr. Samuels."

"Hey, I was a high school student once. Okay kiddo, see ya tomorrow."

"Bye." Samantha put the phone back in its cradle and lay motionless on the bed for a few seconds. "Okay, homework; prepare to meet your maker." She sat up and leaned over the bed's edge to grab her backpack and drag it closer to her. Samantha unzipped the bag to get out her homework. She rummaged around but couldn't find it. A groan came from Samantha when she remembered her homework was in her notebook…which Allan was in possession of at the moment.

The doorbell rang and Samantha heard the distant sound of her mother answering it. "Samantha, it's for you!"

Samantha lazily tumbled out of her bed, landing on her hands and knees. She quickly got up and went to the door. She was shocked to see who was there.

"Hello, Samantha," Allan greeted.

"Hello, Allan," Samantha said with no enthusiasm. Her mom left them so she could finish cooking dinner. Good! Cause Samantha was ready to chew him out! She looked over her shoulder to make sure both of her parents weren't in hearing range. The coast was clear.

She whipped her head back around to face Allan. "What are you doing here? Are you following me?"

"I can't really be following you if you've written your address in the 'if lost, please return to' part of the notebook," Allan said as he pulled out the book from behind his back and opened it up to show her address written inside. He held it out to her.

Samantha eyed him as she reached out and took it. His fingers brushed against hers. She quickly withdrew her hand when she felt like she had been shocked. "Uh, thanks," Samantha managed to say.

"You're welcome." Allan grinned as he looked at the exterior of the door and then back at her. "Now I know where you live." He pushed the inside of his left cheek with his tongue. "Scary thought, isn't it?"

Samantha silently admitted that it was. Allan put his hand on the door frame and leaned in. "You think I could come inside? Maybe we could do some homework together, hm?" He took a step into the doorway and Samantha subtly blocked his way by acting like she had decided to lean against the frame. She couldn't explain why, but Samantha _did not _want Allan in her home.

"Actually, I work better on my own." It was sort of a half-truth.

Allan blinked and licked his bottom lip. "Well then, I'll, uh, stop by again. See you around, Esmeralda." He gave her a little salute then turned and walked away.

Samantha closed the door, locked it, and went to her room. She threw herself onto the bed and hugged a purple pillow to her chest.

"_Why am I so scared of him? He hasn't done anything to me to make me scared, so why? Why do I get a feeling he's going to be…something terrible in the future? Like he's one step away from going over the edge of insanity?" _

She felt like she was about to go over the edge of insanity if Allan kept acting like he did. Samantha started to drift off to sleep, but slept fitfully; she kept hearing Allan's laughs in her dreams.

…

August 13th, 1996

The next morning at school, Allan took a Canon E53 video camera out of his locker and switched it on. He made a few adjustments and looked up to see Samantha Reads, Harleen Quinzel, and Alice Fredricks walking in his direction. Allan grinned and pressed the record button, pointing it at them. "Good morning, ladies," he greeted as he walked towards them.

As soon as Alice and Harleen noticed the camera, they began to smile and blow kisses. Samantha smiled at her friends' poses but did not pose herself. "Come on, Samantha," Allan encouraged.

Samantha looked straight into the camera and said, "Drop dead."

"Harsh," Allan replied. He still kept the camera trained on Samantha as she went to her locker.

"We have to go, Sammy," Harleen told her.

"Scoot," Samantha said with a wave of her hand and a smile on her face.

Allan loved her smile; absolutely loved it. It was a true smile. Beautiful. Too bad he couldn't see it more often.

As Alice and Harleen walked away, Allan called out, "Bye Alice, bye Harley."

Harleen squealed and waved good-bye.

Allan knew Harley had a crush on him; he would have to be a complete idiot not to know. Sure Harleen was a very attractive girl, but Samantha had a certain quality that drew him in.

Samantha bent down to a bottom locker and opened it. She was digging through, grabbing books and folders, when a loud _clang_ came from the locker above hers. Samantha quickly stood up to find two arms pressed against it. Samantha whirled around to see Allan standing there, very close. He had her trapped.

"Hello there," he said in a low voice.

After getting over the initial shock of finding him suddenly in her space, Samantha turned her back on Allen. "Could you please back away?" she sighed.

"I can't; my locker is right above yours," he said with a sly grin.

Samantha whirled back around to face him. "You have _got_ to be joking!" She hissed.

"Not right now. If you would excuse me…" Allan began to open his locker to put away his camera while Samantha was still trapped. She tried to squeeze out but she only got closer to his face. Allan looked down at her and a wolfish grin spread across his lips. "Getting kinda intimate, aren't we?"

A teacher walked by and shouted out, "No public display of affection!"

Samantha turned red. She shoved Allan away from her. He lost his footing and fell on his butt in the middle of the hall. "Jerk," Samantha muttered and slammed her locker door shut.

As Samantha began to walk away, Allan called out in a sing-song voice, "I'll see you later, Beautiful!"

That caused people to stare.

"_I'm one step away from committing murder!" _she thought to herself as she hurried to English.

…..

After lunch, Samantha went to her locker to grab the supplies she needed. Allan came by and opened his locker without a word. Samantha stuck her head inside her locker, looking for a certain paper. She withdrew her head when she found it, and discovered Allan had knelt down to get eye level with her. He had his camera out and was recording Samantha.

"What is up with you and that camera?" she asked, irritably.

Allan shrugged, still aiming the camera at her. "I don't know. I just really like capturing things."

Samantha paused in the middle of transferring a class book from her bag to her locker. "On film?" she added.

Allan briefly looked up from the camera. "Huh?"

"You like to capture things _on film_, right? That's what you meant."

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah," he replied, lowering his gaze back to the camera.

She looked at him from the corner of her eye. "Do you have to record me?"

"Yes."

Samantha closed her locker, rolling her eyes. She straightened and shrugged her back pack on as faced him. "What do I have to do to get you to stop?"

Allan also stood and smiled. "Smile for me," he said simply.

Samantha forced a smile.

"A _real smile,_ Samantha. You can do better than that; I know you can."

She gave him another smile, better than the last, but still not a _real_ smile.

"One day, I'm going to make you laugh," he promised.

"I doubt that."

Allan stopped recording and lowered the camera. He stood very close to her and stared deep into Samantha's eyes. "Don't close your mind to the idea," he said in a low voice.

Samantha stood there quietly for a moment. She could see it again. The…dark glint in his eyes. It felt like something was _fighting _to be free. It made her blood cold and her skin tingle.

Samantha broke free from his gaze and walked away. Allan raised the camera and pressed record.

"_One day, Esmeralda, I'll make you laugh,"_ he thought.

Allan ran his tongue over his lips and stopped recording when Samantha was out of sight. He chuckled and walked after her.

…

In Drama, the students were learning the stage techniques of how to make a fight look real.

"You hit your leg when you pretend to slap someone so you can get that good impact sound," the drama instructor explained. "Who would like to demonstrate?"

Samantha raised her hand.

"Samantha, come up here. Now, I need a guy up here… Allan, since you're new here, come on up."

Samantha felt an idea coming on as Allan stood in front of her.

"Remember what I told you. Go on," the teacher said. Samantha let her hand fly and slapped Allan across the face. "Oh, that was lovely! It looked like so real," the instructor exclaimed cheerfully. Allan put a hand on the place Samantha had struck him. He smiled and let a small chuckle escape as he wet his lips.

"Let's have them demonstrate a man kissing a lady's hand. Allan, would you care to show us?"

Allan's eyes danced with mischief as he stared at Samantha. "Sure," he answered.

"A man is supposed to get down on one knee and take the lady's hand and kiss it while he looks into her eyes. Do you understand?"

Allan nodded. He got down on one knee, grasped the hand Samantha had slapped him with, and gently placed a kiss on it while looking into her eyes. Samantha turned red. She clenched her fists as she walked back to her desk. She could never get back at Allan long enough. He always had something up his sleeve that he'd use to get back at her, like that kiss.

Samantha glanced at him to see he was staring at her, grinning. He blew her a kiss and she turned away. Allan licked his lips and grinned even bigger.

"Jerk," Samantha silently mumbled. _"A very cute jerk. __**Oh shut up.**__"_

…

Months went by, the New Year came, 1997, and soon it was prom night. Samantha and her friends met up at the school gym and admired each others dresses.

Samantha wore a long light blue dress that had one strap and the skirt flowed when she walked, making her look as though she were gliding. She had pulled her hair back in a ponytail with five small braids in it. Her shoes were silver, and she wore a simple silver chained necklace with silver teardrop earrings.

Samantha and Alice were talking as the music played and students danced when Harleen came back from dancing with the fourth boy who had asked her to dance. "Dancing can take a lot out of ya," she huffed playfully.

"Look who's talking, Miss. Gymnast," Alice teased. They had to nearly shot at each other to be heard over the music. Amber's 'This is Your Night' could be heard clearly through the speakers.

"_**You captured my heart, you're the key to my life  
A vision of our love, that made me survive  
Regaining the mood, that we're in, it's so real  
It's time to move up, and to face what I feel, oohh!"  
**_

Harleen giggled and glanced over Alice's shoulder. "Oh, Sammy, Allan's here!"

"What?!" Samantha blanched. She and Alice turned to look.

"I'll get him over here," Alice said taking a step in his direction.

Samantha grabbed her arm. "No!"

"What? Why?"

"Because I don't want to talk to him."

"Then don't talk to him."

"I won't, but then he'll end up making me talk to him."

Alice rolled her eyes and went to get Allan anyway. He smirked when he caught Samantha's eye. He wore a black suit with a purple tie. Allan gave her a wink. "Hello Samantha."

Samantha flashed Allan a quick, forced smile to acknowledge his presence. "You look good in that suit, Allan," Harley told him.

Allan straightened his purple tie, grinning. "Thanks."

The song 'Sway', sung by Dean Martin, began to play over the speakers and Allan lifted an eyebrow at Samantha. "Would you like to dance-?"

"Yes!" Harleen interrupted with a squeal.

"Samantha?" Allan finished. Harleen pouted.

Samantha was on the verge of saying 'no', when she took a moment to look at his face. He looked so… hopeful; like he was _pleading_ with her. Those eyes…

"Okay…"

That shocked everyone, including Samantha. Allan was silent as he extended his hand out to her. Samantha placed her hand in his and he held it gently, like he was afraid he was going to break her. An impish grin spread across his face and he led her out to the dance floor.

"Do you even know how to dance?" she asked him.

"You'd be surprised," Allan replied and moistened his lips with his tongue.

Samantha did turn out to be surprised. Allan was a pretty good dancer. And he was sneaky! He had chosen the perfect song to dance with her. It called for two dancers to be close and the sneak knew it! He'd move her all around and draw her in close to him, grinning mischievously while he did it. At the end of the dance, Allan had managed to get their heads very close together. His face lost all trace of mischief as he just stared at her.

Allan slowly moved in and brought their faces closer. Samantha pulled away which startled and confused Allan. She pried herself out of his hold and started towards Harleen and Alice.

Allan took a few deep breaths to collect himself and walked after her. "Samantha!" he called.

"Guys, I have to go home," Samantha hurriedly told her friends.

"But, Sammy-."

"I just have to go." Samantha began to hurry out of the gym with Allan following behind.

"Samantha!" Allan repeated. Samantha glanced over her shoulder and picked up her pace. Allan jogged to catch up with her. "Samantha, wait!" He finally caught up and reached out, touching her arm. "Samantha-."

"Don't touch me!" she cried fearfully, jerking her arm away like she'd been burned by acid.

Allan's brow furrowed as her stared at her with a look of confusion. "Are you nervous around me?" he asked.

"Nervous? What I feel when you're around is more than being nervous."

Allan grinned. He grabbed both her arms, pulled her into him, and wrapped his arms around her waist. "So you like me, hm?" he chuckled.

Samantha pushed off of his chest, breaking free. "No! Listen, you joker, I've had enough of you! I am so sick of looking at you, listening to you, being held by you, and having anything to do with you! I've had it!"

Allan looked stunned for a moment at her outburst and then, slowly, a sickening grin spread across his face. It caused Samantha's stomach to churn. "Joker, hm? I kinda like the sound of that." His hands reached out to clasp Samantha's. He received a backhanded slap that made his teeth rattle. A bright red spot appeared on his cheek.

"Did you not hear a word of what I just said?" Samantha seethed. Allan stared at her in shock. "I've had enough of the jokes; enough of you! You _scare _me!" her voice trembled. "That's what I feel when you're around; _fear_! _Please_, get away from me!"

Allan looked down at his feet, silent. When he looked up, there was no grin, no hint of a smile on his face. "Not before I do something first," he said quietly. He brought his hand at the back of Samantha's neck and ran his fingers through her hair a few times. Tilting her head back, Allan brought his mouth down to Samantha's.

She tried to pull away, but he had a firm hold on her. She shivered when his hand slid down her bare arm, feeling that same shocking sensation when their fingers had brushed against each other. Samantha couldn't decide if it was a pleasant feeling or not. Allan broke the kiss and put his hands in his suit's pockets. He stood there, looking at her for a moment. He gave a brief smile, inclined his head at her, and walked past Samantha to the school's double doors, humming to himself.

That was the last time she ever saw Allan Jordan.

**(Well? What did ya think of chapter one? Please leave a review!)**


	2. Chapter 2

(**So this is my second installment, and I have to do this chapter justice because my friend, Shadowscreator, would kill me if I ruined the Mob Bank scene. Yes, I know that this is mostly from the movie but, eh. And also, please excuse the way Samantha get's on the bus, it was the only thing I could think of. Anyway, here it is. Please review!)**

Chapter Two

~_Ten Years Later~_

Samantha trudged up the steps to Gotham City Bank to cash in her paycheck from Gotham General Hospital, where she worked as a nurse. All those years of hard work had finally paid off.

As for Harleen Quinzel and Alice Fredricks; Harleen had gone to a separate college while Alice and Samantha attended the same one. Harleen had returned to Gotham with a head full of blond hair and plans on interning at Arkham Asylum.

Alice got a job as a secretary at Wayne Tech. The pay there was better than Samantha's, but that's what happened when you worked for the richest man in Gotham City. Yep, Alice now worked for Boy Billionaire, Bruce Wayne, who had in fact been missing for seven years before suddenly reappearing not even a year ago.

Samantha entered the building and picked the shortest line she could find.

She'd heard rumors about Gotham City Bank being a mob bank. Of course, she had only heard those rumors **after** setting up her bank account there and that had taken a lot of time and frustration. She didn't want to have to go through the process of relocating her account to another bank that was probably less secure than the one it was in now.

Samantha pulled her black sweater closer to her body as she waited in line. Why did all banks find it necessary to keep the temperature so low that it felt like an ice box? Banks could afford a little heat, couldn't they?

Gunshots suddenly filled the air, disturbing the quiet atmosphere of the bank. Samantha instinctively ducked and turned to see three men in clown masks and holding guns.

Clown One yelled out for everyone to keep their hands where they could see them as Clown Two dragged bank tellers over the counters and onto the floor.

Clown Two pointed his gun at Samantha. "Come on, sugar; move it this way like everybody else."

"All right, everybody, hands up, heads down!" Clown One shouted.

Samantha slowly moved where Clown Two ordered her to go and got down on her knees. To her horror, the third clown produced hand grenades from a blue duffle bag he carried on his shoulder. He placed them in people's hands, pulling the pin so they had to hold on or die.

"Obviously we don't want you doing anything with your hands, other than holding on for dear life," Clown One said with amusement.

Clown Three came to the man beside Samantha and shoved a grenade in his hands. Her heart leapt into her throat as he turned to her. He stopped and cocked his head to the side as he peered at her through his frowning clown mask.

"On the ground!" Clown Two shouted as he hit a security guard, who fell to the tiled floor. He pointed his gun at a group of people. "Nobody make a move! Everybody stay down!"

Suddenly a loud explosion of shattering glass and a gunshot, resounded from Samantha's right. The clown fell face down; dead.

Clown Three grabbed Samantha by the arm and pulled her with him underneath a desk.

Another shot was heard and she looked to see the bank manager with a shot gun, firing at the robbers. Samantha felt the clown release her arm.

"_Please don't let him use me as a shield," _Samantha prayed.

"Esmeralda…?"

It was whispered so softly that Samantha had almost missed it.

The hairs at the back of her neck stood up. She turned her head to look at the clown but he was already moving to join the leader of the gang beneath another desk. He hadn't grabbed Samantha to use as a shield. She sighed in relief.

The manager shot at Clown Three as he moved from one desk to another, following him. "Yeah!" the man shouted.

Clown Three over shot his leap to the desk and had to slide back, using his feet to push himself against the desk.

Samantha stuck her head out from beneath her hiding place to watch the men.

"You have any idea who you're who you're stealing from? You and your friends are dead!" the manager yelled out to the clowns.

The two of clowns stayed low behind their shield.

"He's out, right?" Clown One asked his partner.

Clown Three paused a moment as if he was thinking and then nodded. Clown One jumped up and raised his gun at the manager but he immediately felt a bullet graze his arm. He dropped back down for cover.

Apparently the manager had one shot left but now his gun was empty.

Clown Three sprang up and shot the manager in the chest. He staggered a bit before he collapsed onto the floor.

The clown leader popped back up from the desk, holding his arm and inspecting the hole in his sleeve. "Where did you learn to count?" he asked angrily. Clown Three just glanced at him but didn't answer.

Samantha began to wonder if Clown Three could even talk.

"_He's probably a bozo. Bozo, the Clown." _

Clown One ran off towards the back of the bank heading for the vault, while Bozo stayed to watch everyone. Not that anyone was really panning to do anything, considering half the people had grenades in their hands.

Samantha took her time to study Bozo.

He walked with a slouch and a sort of menacing strut. His hair, from what she could see, seemed to be dyed green. It was long and messy and stopped near the bottom of his ears.

He walked up and down, between the people, looking at all them. Actually, he seemed to be looking **for** someone.

"_Me...?" _Samantha wondered.

Bozo froze when he saw her under the desk. Again he stared at her and cocked his head to the side. Samantha couldn't help but stare back, unable to look away.

Ten minutes or more went by and Clown One came back with large duffle bags, stuffed with money. Both men piled the bags together.

"That's a lot of money. If this Joker guy was so smart, he'd have had us bring a bigger car," Clown One said.

"_Joker!"_ Samantha's blood froze when she heard the name. He was someone you didn't want to mess with.

Bozo turned to grab another bag when Clown One cocked his gun and pointed it at him. Bozo slowly turned to face him. The mask hid his true emotions, still holding its frown.

"I'm bettin' the Joker told you to kill me soon as we loaded the cash?" Clown One asked.

Bozo sighed as he looked at his wrist watch, slowly lowered his arm and said, "No, no, no, no; I kill the _busss_ driver."

It was the first time Samantha had heard him speak; unless **he** wasthe one who whispered, 'Esmeralda'? Okay, so he wasn't a bozo after all.

"Bus driver?" Clown One repeated.

Bozo took a couple of steps back from him.

Clown One still kept his gun trained on him. "What bus driver?" he asked, voicing Samantha's thoughts.

Suddenly the wall beside them exploded and the back end of a big, yellow, school bus appeared and collided with the leader's body, knocking him down and killing him. The back door of the bus opened and another guy in a clown mask jumped out.

"School's out, time to go," the new guy said. He gave a short laugh when he glanced at the dead man. "Ha, that guy's not getting up, is he?" He grunted when Bozo threw him a bag to load onto the bus. "That's a lot of money," New Clown said as Bozo handed him a second and third bag.

Bozo turned and looked to see that he had given him all the bags in the pile closest to the bus.

"What happened to the other guys?" New Clown asked.

Bozo took one step towards the next pile of bags, threw his arm holding the gun behind him and shot New Clown dead without turning around.

Bozo walked over to the bags which were right in front of Samantha. He grabbed a bag with each hand and looked at her before dragging them to the bus.

Bozo was about to climb into the bus when the bank manager Samantha thought was dead, lifted his head weakly and started to yell at him. "You think you're so smart, huh?"

Bozo paused and looked over his shoulder.

"The guy that hired youse… he'll just do the same to you."

Bozo turned to face him while reaching behind his back as he walked towards the injured man.

"Oh, criminals in this town use to believe in things. Honor…**respect**." The bank manager wheezed out a laugh. "Look at you…"

Bozo pulled his hand from behind his back. In his hand was a grenade.

"What do you believe in, huh? What do you believe in?" the manager shouted angrily.

Bozo knelt down and shoved the grenade into the man's mouth, silencing him.

"I believe, that whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you-," Bozo pulled off his mask, "_straaanger."_

The manager's eyes grew wide with horror as the clown gave a quick grin before turning away, grabbing the man's shotgun while he was at it.

As Bozo walked, thread was beginning to unravel from the lining of his wrinkled, faded, blue jacket. Samantha saw the end of the thread was knotted around the pin of the grenade.

He turned his head towards Samantha, grinning wickedly. Samantha felt her jaw drop when she recognized him as the Joker, a criminal mastermind who had become well known in Gotham City in a short time.

The Joker's face was covered in ashen white paint, the area around his eyes was colored black and his lips were outlined in blood red, curled like a smile. His eyes were a dark brown; his teeth were yellowed, but perfectly straight.

He winked at her and focused on the bus. The Joker glanced at the manager's gun and threw it into the back of the bus, climbing in after it. He shut the door on the string and hopped over the pile of bags on his way to the driver's seat.

As soon as he started the engine, Samantha decided to do the most daring thing she had ever done. She leapt up from where she was sitting and ran to the bus.

She jumped, grabbed the handle of the door, and pulled it open, clambering inside just as the bus drove off.

"_Ah crap!"_ Samantha thought when she remembered the manager with the grenade in his mouth.

Samantha looked back to see the manager hadn't moved. The string pulled the tab off and smoke billowed out from the grenade. No explosion. It was a fake! Samantha sighed in relief.

She stayed low in the back, hiding behind the seats and glancing at the Joker, praying he wouldn't see her through the rearview mirror.

How was he going to cover up a big bus heading away from a bank robbery?

Her question was answered when the bus pulled out into the streets and into a line with lots of other buses, taking kids home from Fergunson Middle School.

Samantha decided to crawl under the seats to avoid being seen. When she got to the last seat, she saw the gun beside him and took a deep breath. She shot out her arm, grabbed the weapon and aimed it at the Joker. He looked at her in surprise but kept on driving.

"Alright Clown Boy, turn this bus right back around," she hissed.

The Joker let out a series of strange laughs. Laughs that sounded eerily familiar. The Joker kept driving and turned right, pulling away from the rest of the buses.

"I mean it! Turn around!" Samantha ordered.

"Listen, I'm not turning around, and another thing, that gun's not loaded," the Joker said.

Samantha realized she was holding the manager's empty shotgun and her heartbeat quickened.

The Joker pulled out a handgun from beside him. "This one's loaded though. _Sooo_ instead of you trapping _me_, I've trapped _you_," he laughed.

The Joker's laughs were high pitched, but when he spoke, his voice was constantly changing from one tone to another, like he couldn't make up his mind.

The Joker looked at Samantha's astonished face in the mirror. "Sooo why don't you just sit tight and enjoy the riiide, hm? When we stop, I'll figure out what to do with you, but for nooow…"

He reached into his jacket and brought out a small metal ball the size of a marble from his breast pocket.

"Take this and relax."

The Joker cackled as he threw it over his shoulder. It hit the floor and smoke issued out from it.

Samantha began to cough and covered her mouth as the smoke surrounded her face. She began to feel dizzy and tired. Her vision started to fade in and out of focus.

Samantha fell to her knees, trying to clear her head. She collapsed and her vision went black. The last thing she heard was those strange laughs.

…...….

When Samantha woke up, the bus had stopped moving. It was silent.

She lifted her head and groaned at the dull ache she felt in her head.

The Joker was looking down at her from the driver's seat, sitting on his knees with his head on his arms as they rested on the head rest.

"Ah, you're awake!" he said.

Samantha quickly sat up and her head swam.

The Joker moved from the driver's seat to the passenger seat right next to her. He sat on it and brought his knees up and put his elbows on them. In his hand was a gun.

"Sooo you thought you could get me to turn around; hm? Well, that little idea didn't work out did it?"

"No," Samantha answered reluctantly.

"No, it didn't. You shouldn't have got on the bus, buuut you_ did_ and now I have to decide what to do with you." The Joker pulled out a knife from his pocket.

Samantha noticed a sort of disfigurement about his mouth and she realized that he had scars at both sides of his mouth. The scars were curled up, like a smile.

"Are you staring at my scars?" he asked.

"No," Samantha said quickly.

"Yes, you we_-rrre_," the Joker sing-songed. He moved into her seat and held the knife close to her face, a wild look in his eyes. "Wanna know how I got 'em?"

"No."

The Joker paused. "Well…you're the first person to ever say that." His tongue darted out across his lips. He leaned in close to her and a gloved hand clamped around the back of her neck as the knife was brought to Samantha's mouth.

"Wha_t_-_ah_ am I going to do with you?" he sighed.

If Samantha struggled, the knife would slice her throat. If she didn't do anything, the Joker would kill her. There was no win in this situation.

She remembered the whispering of a name in the bank. It had probably been her imagination but Samantha decided to ask anyway.

"Did you call me, Esmeralda' in the bank?" she blurted.

The Joker's brown eyes flickered. It was strange, he had puppy dog eyes and yet he was the most dangerous man in Gotham.

The Joker didn't answer so she went further.

"Allan Jordan?" she asked.

_That_ got a reaction.

The Joker's face twitched. "I knew it was you," was all he said.

He took the knife away from her face but kept his hand latched to the back of her neck. "Samantha Reads, right?" he asked, licking his lips.

Samantha nodded slowly in disbelief.

She had been right all along. She was right when she thought he'd become evil. She just didn't know he'd be 'famous' evil.

The Joker twirled his knife, a care free expression on his face. "Samantha, it's been a dog's age."

Samantha eyed the knife, not quite sure if she felt relieved to know it was Allan, or not.

"_All those people he killed..."_

The Joker put his back to the driver's seat and leaned on it, facing her. "Oh, the memories…" He gave a dramatic sigh. Suddenly his eyes lit up. "Remember the last time we saw each other, when I, uh, _kissed_ you." His lips moved to form a dirty smile. "Did you recognize me in the bank and jumped on the bus because you wanted more? You couldn't let me go, huh?" he chuckled.

Rage bubbled up inside of her. She knew this man from the start and here he was! He was responsible for so many deaths; some of his victims she'd actually treated and watched die! And here he was making off-hand remarks about kissing her in high-school!

Samantha balled up her fist and swung at the Joker. He moved his head and grabbed her arm. The Joker twisted it around and put the knife to her throat as he pressed Samantha's back to his chest.

"Oh don't do that. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

He removed the knife to motion in the air. "I'm quite irresistible."

With the blade gone from her throat, Samantha struggled to get out of his grasp and fell down into the narrow walkway on her back. The Joker straddled her and pinned both arms when she tried to punch him again. He lowered himself to where he was less than three inches from her face.

"Sooo, you're through with slapping and moved on to punches, is that right?" he jeered.

"Get off of me!" Samantha hissed through clenched teeth.

The Joker raised his eyes to glance briefly at the ceiling before bringing them back to Samantha.

"Uuuuuh…no." He chuckled, showing his yellowy teeth and shifted his weight on top of Samantha. "No, I think I'm comfortable right _herrre_."

Samantha rolled her eyes.

"_The annoying side of him hasn't changed a bit, in fact, it's worse!" _Samantha thought angrily.

"Allan, get off!"

"Oh, that's not my name; I just made that one up."

"Let me go!"

The Joker snickered at how ticked Samantha was becoming as the seconds passed by. She tried to raise herself up, but he pushed her down none too gently.

"You really should learn to relax. Take things easy."

He was hovering over her now, his upper body being supported by his elbows. Samantha caught the gleam of the knife's blade from the corner of her eye as it stayed in the Joker's hand.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when a gloved finger brushed the hair away from her face.

"You're still so tense," he told her.

Samantha suddenly exploded with energy and used all her strength to try and throw the Joker off. This time he put his **full** weight on her, she couldn't move at all, she could barely breathe. Her efforts started to dwindle.

"Are ya done?" the Joker asked smugly.

Samantha sighed through her nose. "For now."

"All right; I'm going to get up, and so are you, but you are no_t-ah _going to do anything that would _force_ me to hurt you. Understand?"

He received a cold glare as his reply. "Good," he said and got up, pulling Samantha to her feet.

They exited the bus and Samantha squinted at the sudden glare of the sun. She looked around after her eyes had adjusted to the light and found they were in some kind of a deserted bus parking lot. She also saw that the Joker seemed to be studying her.

"Your hair is shorter," he said out of the blue.

Samantha unconsciously touched the end of her hair. "What?" she asked, making sure she heard him right.

The Joker reached out, touching her blond hair. "It used to go over your shoulders _aaaa_nd," he traced her shoulders, went down her back two inches and stopped, "ended right there." Now her hair went to the top of her shoulders.

Samantha felt her skin crawl. "Stop that," she said testily.

The Joker bit the inside of his right cheek. "Oh I'm sorry, does it make you uncomfortable? Because I'm _aaaa_ll about making my hostages feel comfortable," he said with such heavily laced sarcasm that Samantha couldn't believe a human was capable of.

Samantha took a step back from him. He cocked his head to the side. "I know what you're thinking," he sing-songed and stepped towards her.

Samantha turned and started running; the Joker close behind. "I was right!" he shouted, still singing his words.

Samantha went around the bus to the driver's side and paused long enough to pull the metal bar on the bumper out. The Joker came around and his legs hit the bar, falling face first, but put his hands out to catch his fall.

Samantha didn't turn to see if her plan had worked, she kept running to an alley that was ahead and opened out to the busy streets of Gotham.

When she was about half way into the alley, Samantha realized that running in was not the brightest idea.

A small group of young men and a few teenage boys appeared from the shadows.

Samantha skidded to a stop.

"Get 'er!" an older black teen shouted.

It was as if he had said, "Sic 'em," to a pack of hounds. They lunged for her as one.

Samantha immediately changed directions. She froze when the Joker and two more men showed up on the other side.

He chuckled as he casually strolled down the alley to her. "You didn't think I was going to unload all that money by myself, did you?" he asked.

Samantha glanced to the left and spotted a fire escape ladder. She sprang towards it and climbed up the metal bars.

The Joker leaped with a growl, hand outstretched to grab her foot but was a second too late.

"Go after her!" he barked at his goons.

The men sprinted up the ladder with the Joker close behind them. He made it to the top in time to see one of his newest recruits, Jamal, was gaining on Samantha.

The Joker grinned evilly. _"That's right, run little rabbit,"_ he thought.

Samantha leapt over the ledge of the roof and sailed across the narrow space between it and the next roof. She kept searching for an emergency door or another fire escape, anything!

Wait…There! A door!

She saw the sign from far away said 'push', well that's exactly what she was going to do.

Samantha picked up her pace and slammed her body into the door. It made a metallic _bang_ when she made contact, but never budged.

Samantha rebounded from the door and fell to the ground on her back. Her body throbbed with pain, coursing through every muscle.

The sign said 'push'. Well she had defiantly done that!

"That was stupid," Samantha groaned, picking herself off the ground.

"Dang! Did you see that?" one of the boys exclaimed.

Samantha began to move again, her body ached with every motion. She wouldn't waste her time on a locked door.

Samantha spotted another up ahead just as she was dragged down by the older black boy, who had taken a flying leap and wrapped his arms around her boy's knees hit the pavement hard.

Samantha flipped over to face him and punched him in the gut. He let out a grunt and grasped her arm. Samantha switched to the other hand and drove it into his face. The boy was propelled backwards, letting Samantha wriggle away and start running for the door.

She chanced to look over her shoulder and noticed the group of men had gotten closer. She reached the door and opened it, hurrying down the steps.

The group squeezed through the opening barely fifteen seconds later. A young man with light red hair, grabbed at Samantha. Two others slide down the stair rail and blocked her escape. Samantha stomped on the red head's toe and he released her to hold his foot.

The sound of clapping from the top of the stairs made everyone look up. The Joker was descended the steps, applauding.

"Well done, boys. Samantha, I see you've kept yourself in shape. She won't be anymore trouble, gentlemen," he told them.

"Yeah right," Samantha scoffed.

The Joker roughly grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. "You **won't** cause any more trouble, cause if you do…" he lifted his eyebrows in a silent warning.

The Joker signaled for his thugs to head up the stairs. When they emerged from the stairs and were outside, the Joker leaned in close to Samantha. "I'm gonna have to keep an eye on you," he said.

Samantha stiffened when she felt his hand touch the small of her back. "That may not be the only thing I keep on you though," the Joker murmured.

Samantha jerked away, only to be pulled back to his side. "Mmmmh, it's going to be **fun** having you around," he laughed.

"Yippee," Samantha said sarcastically.

"I can tell you're elated," the Joker mumbled.

Samantha raised her hand to gauge his eyes, but the Joker caught her arm and twisted it. "Same fiery Samantha!" he cackled, enjoying the struggle.

Samantha suddenly kneed him in the groin. He bent over but didn't let go. A growl emitted from his throat. "That's it!"

The Joker bared his teeth as he picked Samantha up and threw her over his shoulder.

"Put me down!" Samantha shouted, kicking her legs.

The Joker's group of thugs watched the two of them with curiosity and amusement. He walked over to the ladder and pulled out his gun with one hand.

The Joker set Samantha down and aimed the gun at her. "I'll tell ya what I'm going to do. When I climb down this ladder, you're going to come down after me. If you try to get away…" he waved the weapon, "**Bang**."

Samantha crossed her arms, frowning, but made no reply.

"Soo glad you understand."

The Joker kept the gun trained on her as he backed up to the fire escape. He set one foot on the first bar and grinned. "Oh boys, make sure Miss. Reads doesn't try anything," he ordered. He laughed as he suddenly slid down the ladder. When he got to the bottom, the Joker motioned for her to follow.

Samantha rolled her eyes and repeated his way down by sliding. She reached the last wrung on the ladder and was swooped up in the Joker's arms.

"Let me go," she hissed.

"Of course."

The Joker dropped her. Samantha landed painfully on her butt. She grunted, feeling even more agony build up inside her already battered body.

"You jerk," Samantha muttered.

The men hurried down the ladder and they all headed for the bus.

The Joker opened the back door and the boys immediately got busy with unloading the bags of money and carrying them to a big work van that a thug had drove to them.

As the boys worked, the Joker whirled around to face Samantha. "The only solution to this, uh, little problem, is bringing you along," he told her.

"Sorry to be such a burden," Samantha apologized sarcastically.

"No trouble at all," the Joker replied with a tone to match hers.

Samantha hugged her sweater closer and felt the lump in her jeans pocket; her cell phone. Her salvation.

She tried to act the same, as if she hadn't discovered her possible key to survival hidden in her pocket.

The Joker pointed to the van's passenger seat and lifted his eyebrows as if to say, "Get in."

Samantha walked over and the Joker opened the door for her. Samantha sat in the seat and flinched when he slammed the door shut with a flourish. He hopped to the driver's side and climbed inside.

"Just a sec," he said.

He reached across the space between them and put his hand inside her left pocket. Samantha about slapped his hand away due to the inappropriate action.

The Joker dug out the green cell phone and waved it in her face as he smiled and licked his lips. "Mm-mm," he sang smugly.

"Jerk," Samantha grumbled.

The Joker chuckled.

"Laugh it up, Clown Boy, but the joke will be on you one day."

"I doubt it."

"Don't close your mind to the idea."

The Joker's laughs instantly ceased. He remembered the conversation they had all those years ago.

Without a word, he put the keys in the ignition and revved up the engine. The men piled in the back of the van and the Joker nailed the gas pedal to the floor.

Samantha clenched her teeth and winced at how fast he was driving through the city streets. She gasped when he nearly ran into a black Portia and a taxi. He only howled with laughter.

"You're going to get me killed!" Samantha yelled.

"Lady, I think that's the point," the red head said.

Samantha turned to face him and gave the boy the coldest glare she could muster up. The boy's eyes widened and he cringed.

The Joker took a hard right, slinging some of the goons around and making Samantha's heart rate increase. She had a special reason why she hated being in fast cars; it involved a terrible accident three years ago.

The Joker slammed on the brakes in front of a dilapidated looking building, which was surprisingly still selling its merchandise of clothes.

A clown with blue lips on his mask was ordered out of the van. He went to the driver's window to hear the rest of his instructions from the Joker. Samantha caught part of the conversation. Something about a suit that was custom made.

The Joker snapped his fingers at one of the men behind him and he was handed a blue duffle bag. He passed it to the man outside the van and the clown darted into the building.

The Joker tapped his thumb on the steering wheel as he waited, occasionally humming and la-de-da-ding to a tune that only he could hear.

The red head leaned forward in the space separating the Joker and Samantha. "So Boss, who's the broad?"

The Joker glared at him. Red clamped his mouth shut and leaned back.

A few minutes later, the clown came out with a thin black box under his arm. Someone opened the van's side door and he ducked inside. Once again, the van took off at an alarming speed and didn't slow down until they came to a sudden stop at an abandoned building, out of the main part of Gotham.

Once inside the building, Samantha was shoved roughly into a room and would have face planted against a wall if her arms had not shot out to stop her.

Samantha turned around to face the clown that had shoved her and to give him a piece of her mind. The clown had already gone and in his place stood the Joker. He sauntered into the room, a wide grin on his face.

"Sorry about that," the Joker said as he straightened his hopelessly wrinkled, blue suit's jacket. "This will be your suite until I figure out what to do with you."

He swung his arms out at the walls, displaying the fact that there were no windows. "I hope you'll enjoy your stay in here." He began to walk out of the room but paused and turned on his heel. "Oh, and if you're good, I might let you out of here every now and then. 'Kay?" The Joker grinned and left the room, slamming the door on his way out.

Samantha rushed over and put her ear against the door to listen. She heard the sound of the Joker's voice telling some thugs to keep watch at the door. The next thing she heard was his footsteps growing fainter and fainter as he walked away.

**(Please send some reviews my way!)**


	3. Chapter 3

**(Hello again. I keep forgetting to say this…*clears throat*…I do not own DC Comics, or Batman, or the Joker, blah blah blah blah blah.) **

Chapter Three

Samantha awoke with a start and let her eyes scan around her before pushing off the hard floor.

Her left side felt numb from how she had been sleeping. She didn't even remember lying down to fall asleep.

What time was it?

There were no windows, so she couldn't tell if it was day or night outside. Samantha regretted her choice of not wearing a watch yesterday.

Samantha stiffly got to her feet and winced at the aching all over her body. Her muscles protested the movements but she tried her best to stretch.

She limped over to the door and pressed her ear against it. Hearing no noise, she rapped her knuckles against the door.

"Hello, anyone out there?"

Samantha paused when she heard the voices of the two clowns guarding her.

"She's up."

"Go tell the Boss."

The sound of feet running off met her ears. Samantha could tell she was going to have to wait a bit.

Seven minutes passed and the door was thrown open, revealing the Joker. He was wearing a different suit this morning; a very interesting suit.

It was a long, purple coat that reached to his mid-calves, purple, pin-striped pants, a green vest, a blue hexagon patterned shirt, a blackish tie, purple leather gloves, and a pair of brown shoes.

Samantha couldn't decide whether to laugh at him or keep her mouth shut. She chose the latter and bit her bottom lip.

"Good morning, Esmeralda. Sleep well?"

The Joker walked inside the room and looked around. He pointed his index finger at her and shook it like he was getting onto an unruly child.

"You know… a, uh, girl like you shouldn't be locked away all the time. Sooo, what do you say to taking a little walk with me; hm?"

"A walk?"

"Mm-hm."

"Just a walk?"

"Yeah."

"Why am I having a hard time believing you?"

"Why, Samantha, I'm hurt," the Joker pouted.

"I bet you are," Samantha bit back sarcastically.

The Joker motioned for her to step out of the room first, which Samantha was only too happy to do. She heard him close the door behind them. When she turned to face him there was a devilish grin on the Joker's face.

"Samantha, Samantha, Samantha," he sighed, shaking his head.

Samantha folded her arms and glared at him. "Joker, Joker, Joker," she mocked.

The Joker chuckled and walked over, draping an arm around her shoulders. "Look… I know thaaat, we didn't exactly meet under good…ah…circumstan_ces_. And I thought that we should start over?"

"Oh really?" Samantha said sardonically.

The Joker stepped forward, bringing Samantha along with him. "Yeah…we should try things a little more _differently_." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at his henchmen. "I gotta say I wasn't exactly pleased with how my boys handled you yesterday."

Samantha pulled back to face him; he still managed to keep his arm around her shoulders. "Your boys? _You_ were the one who had a_ knife_ up against my throat!" she scoffed.

The Joker gave her a sly grin. "Oh yeah, that _was me_, wasn't it?" He let out a shrill laugh.

Samantha noticed that the thugs were not following them and she and the Joker were soon walking alone. Samantha didn't like that. She didn't like being alone with him in high school when he called himself Allan Jordan and she didn't like it now when he was the Joker, the most feared man in Gotham, maybe even the country.

So why wasn't she speechless with fear? Why wasn't she begging for her life, pleading for him to let her go and not harm her?

"_Because I knew him…"_

A few seconds of silence had ticked past and were suddenly interrupted by the Joker clearing his throat.

"Sooooo, Samantha…How's life been to you? It's been just dandy to me! It's left me smiling!" He pointed to his scars and howled at his own joke.

Samantha waited for his laughter to subside before she answered. "It's been fine to me." She lightly bit her bottom lip before continuing. "What happened to you?"

The Joker stopped so quickly Samantha was caught off guard. He stared ahead, silent and emotionless, for almost a minute before suddenly breaking out into a grin.

"Wanna know how I got these scars?" he asked her for the second time since they met. The Joker turned his head to look at her. His eyes were practically dancing with mischief.

Samantha shook her head. "No," she murmured.

The Joker's eyes dimmed at her response. "Awwww, you're no fun, Samantha."

"_I'd rather be no fun than get my face carved up,"_ She thought to herself. And she believed he'd do it too.

Samantha was not under the false sense of security that perhaps knowing the Joker would keep him from harming her. This man beside her was not the teenage boy in high school whose flirting constantly got on Samantha's nerves. This was the Joker, a mentally unstable, sadistic, psychopathic, murdering, clown…who still flirted with her.

The Joker sighed and resumed walking with Samantha at his side. "Fiiine. You'll want to know one day."

"I doubt that."

The Joker let out a disturbing giggle. His tongue darted across his lips before pulling up to a stop next to a door with a window seeing into the room behind it.

Inside the room, was maybe over twenty men lounging around and cutting up with each other, but mostly being loud.

The Joker laughed through his nose and glanced at Samantha. "Watch this," he told her.

He pushed open the door and stepped inside, tugging her into the room with him. The moment his men realized who had walked in, the volume dropped dramatically. All heads had turned to the Joker and no one dared to make a sound. Some were frozen in whatever position they had been in before the Joker walked in.

Samantha watched as the Joker tried to hide his amusement at the thugs' fear and was failing. A snicker escaped from his lips before a serious look replaced his amusement. "Hm…" he grunted.

A small tug on Samantha's elbow told her to move forward. The Joker released her arm, only to place both hands on her shoulders as he stood behind her.

"Boys, meet Samantha Reads! She'll be staying with us for awhile, sooo, be sure to make her feel comfortable!" the Joker announced gleefully.

Samantha's green eyes swept over the faces of his thugs and felt anything but comfortable. They had to be the roughest looking group of men she'd ever seen! If the Joker had been aiming to make people feel further intimidated by his goons, he hit the dead center of the bulls eye.

Samantha winced as she felt the Joker's hands begin to massage her shoulders with more pressure than was necessary. She flinched and jerked away. He cocked an eyebrow playfully and opened his red mouth to speak, but the sound of the door swinging open, stopped him.

Red had burst in, drenched with sweat and breathing heavily. His red shirt clung to his skin and his brownish jacket was half on – half off, of his shoulders. He leaned against the opened door to support himself.

Samantha felt her fist tighten when she recognized him from part of the posse who had chased her down the other day.

Red was not even paying attention to Samantha's death glare, or anyone else for that matter. His gaze was focused on the Joker.

"Boss!" he wheezed, then sucked air into his starving lungs.

Obviously the young man had been running long and hard. He looked so exhausted Samantha couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him.

The Joker briefly looked away from Red to face his thugs. "Watch her," he ordered and swiftly made his way to the red head, leading him out of the room.

Samantha nervously glanced at the men and found herself wishing the Joker had not left her. Funny how she would rather be with the Joker than with his goons.

Samantha's eyes saw a rolling chair close by and cautiously moved towards it, fully alert if one of the men tried to stop her. She sank into the seat as the noise level rose to what it use to be before she and the Joker had barged in. Samantha kept her gaze on the floor and wouldn't look anyone in the eyes, afraid it would cause trouble. The henchmen paid little attention to her and that suited Samantha just fine.

One thug turned up the radio to the song "Feel Good Inc."

"_City's breakin' down on a camel's back,  
They just have to go 'cos they don't know whack,  
So while you fill the streets it's appealing to see,  
You won't get out the county, 'cos you're mad and free."_

One clown man had been watching Samantha for awhile and finally walked behind her. He started to roll her chair around, grinning when he saw her hands clamp around the armrests at the sudden movement. He finally twirled the chair around so Samantha could see him.

"Hey," he said as he bent over her.

Samantha leaned as far back in the seat as she possibly could. Some of the clown men were watching them.

"How 'bout a kiss, huh?" the man asked, leaning closer.

"No."

"Aw, come on."

"No."

"Come on!"

The man grabbed her chin and was about to force his lips onto hers when he was suddenly pulled off. The Joker glared as he stood where the man had been. The Clown's grip was firmly on the back of the thug's shirt. The goon looked terrified.

Samantha caught sight of the Joker's face and shivered. He was staring at the man in a way that chilled her. Samantha noticed that it had gotten quiet and that everyone was watching.

The Joker released the thug and gave him a slight push. "Were you just trying to, uh, _kiss_ Miss Samantha, here?" the Joker asked.

"No," the man lied.

The Joker raised his eyebrows. He moved over to stand behind Samantha and placed his hands on her shoulders. He lowered his chin to rest on the top of her head, making Samantha wish the chair would swallow her.

"You meeean to tell me, you weren't about to grab her face and plant one on her? She's a _very_ beautiful woman, right boys?" the Joker asked, looking at everyone in the room. All the men quickly nodded or voiced their agreement. The Joker's brown eyes rested on the thug again. "Don't you agree?"

The thug nervously shifted his gaze from the Joker to Samantha and then back at the Joker.

"You were going to kiss her. I mean, come on, the opportunity would be too good to pass up, wouldn't it?"

The man started to relax. The Joker lifted himself off of Samantha and slowly walked around the chair to be in front of her. "I can't blame you for wanting to kiss her…Simon, isn't it?"

"Yes sir."

"Sooo…" the Joker wet his lips. "I'm asking you, _Simon_…Were. You. About. To. Kiss. Her?"

Simon slowly nodded. "Yes sir," he answered.

The Joker beamed and gave Simon a pat on the back. "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" He pulled out a gun and aimed at Simon.

"Whoa! Boss, I was kidding!" Simon yelped.

The Joker pulled the trigger and a BANG flag came out. Simon heaved a sigh of relief. The Joker burst into laughter as he put an arm on Simon's shoulder. "So was I," he laughed.

Simon let out an uneasy chuckle.

Samantha felt her stomach muscles tighten. Something wasn't right. Something else was going to happen.

The Joker took two steps away from Simon and paused. He casually turned around, pointed the gun at Simon and pulled the trigger.

Simon fell to the floor with the BANG flag's metal pole protruding from his chest.

"Oops… No, I wasn't," the Joker said gravely.

The Joker spun on his heels and faced the rest of the boys, pointing out two from the group. "Dopey and Stupid, take out the trash," he ordered.

The two goons jumped up and grabbed Simon's body, hurrying off to dispose of it.

All the while, Samantha had been trying to remain invisible. It didn't last long.

The Joker sauntered over to Samantha and put a hand over her shoulder on the back of the chair. "Listen, if anybody else pulls a stunt like him, you come and tell me. You got it?" he asked.

Samantha nodded, still in shock and unable to find her voice.

"Good," he said, grinning. He spun her chair around before walking away. "She's a 'No Touch Zone', boys," the Joker announced loudly for all to hear.

The thugs turned their heads as one, in Samantha's direction.

Now she **really** wished the chair would swallow her. Samantha looked down, avoiding their stares and noticed her hands were trembling. She tightly clutched the arm rests to make them stop.

The Joker stood in the center of the room and clapped his gloved hands together once. "Now, Red has just informed me of a meeting that's going to take place, involving some _cer-tain _mob leadersss. And I'll need…oh, let's just go with five, five of you to accompany me and Samantha to this said meeting."

Samantha's head snapped up. Did she hear him right? Why was the Joker taking her along with him?

The Joker chose Red and four others. They slipped on their clown masks and followed when the Joker motioned with his hand for them to do so.

Samantha was roughly pulled out of her chair and felt an arm snake its way around her waist. "Let's go, Samantha," the Joker said cheerfully.

The Joker grinned at her impishly as he led the way out of the room, down hallways, a few stairs and finally to a very empty indoor parking lot. The only thing in sight was a white working van with tainted windows too dark to see the interior of the vehicle. It was the van Samantha had been tossed around inside from the Joker's driving.

She held in a groan when she was taken to the passenger seat and found out the Joker was driving. He noticed her uneasy expression and giggled as she fastened her seatbelt.

"Don't worry, Samantha, I'll go easy on ya."

"Yeah, sure you will," Samantha scoffed.

The Joker chuckled and ran his tongue over his mouth.

"Why do I have to go?" Samantha asked hesitantly.

The Joker gave her a side long look while he put the key in the ignition. "Do you think you'd want to be alone with them while I'm gone after that little incident a few minutes ago? Hm?"

Samantha was quiet.

"I didn't think so," the Joker sighed and turned the key. The engine roared to life and the Joker cackled as he nailed the gas pedal to the floor with his foot.

During the whole ride, Samantha could hear the thugs' voices of annoyance or the dull thud their bodies made when they were thrown against the walls in the back of the van. Thank God she was wearing a seatbelt! All her life, she had never met a person who drove as reckless as the clown beside her. He only let out peels of laughter whenever he would narrowly avoid wrecking into another vehicle.

Samantha clutched her armrest, her knuckles soon turning white. The Joker patted her hand in a mockingly sympathetic way. "It's all right, Daddy's got it all under control," he snickered.

Samantha jerked her hand away from his touch and frowned. "If you ever refer to yourself as 'Daddy' again, I will smack you so hard, you'll be left without a punch line!" she hissed.

The Joker banged his fist on the wheel, laughing hysterically. "Same old Samantha!"

Samantha turned her face to look out the side window and ignore him.

"By the way, how is 'Daddy' and 'Mommy'?"

He saw how she stiffened and a smirk curled his mouth. Now she was probably worrying about her parents and what he would do to them.

"They're dead."

Wait, what? Did she say they were dead?

"I'm sorry?"

It wasn't an apology, it was a question.

Samantha faced the Joker. "They're dead. Because some stupid idiot was being reckless while he drove and rammed into our car; I lived but the impact killed them! Just like you'll kill us if you don't **slow down**!"

The Joker was surprisingly quiet after her outburst. He didn't laugh and he didn't slow down, he just kept his eyes on the road.

So Samantha's folks were dead? Hm…He had only met them a handful of times, like at big school events or when Samantha's drama class was performing. 'Allan Jordan' had even had a small talk with her old man about something unimportant.

Did he care that they were six feet under? Of course not; but it just felt…strange, knowing they were gone.

The Joker remembered once after a drama performance, that Samantha and her parents were leaving the auditorium and Allan Jordan held open the door for them. Mrs. Reads had smiled and thanked him then told her daughter in a not-too-inconspicuous way, how 'sweet and chivalrous' he was. Samantha had turned a deep shade of crimson and began increasing her walking pace.

Oh, if Mrs. Reads could see him now, she'd have an entirely different opinion and wouldn't be trying to set her daughter up with him!

The Joker gave a short laugh and turned the wheel sharply to the left. Samantha drew air in through her teeth at how sudden the turn had been. She shut her eyes and prayed she'd be alive at the end of the drive.

…

"Wakey, wakey! Open those pretty eyes, Samantha, we're here."

Samantha's eyes flew open and she looked around. Had she actually fallen asleep?

Her door opened and she was jerked out of the seat. Samantha stumbled and bumped into the person holding onto her arm. The Joker. Of course; who else would it be?

Samantha took in her surroundings, trying to figure out where she was. The Thomasina Arms, a slightly fancy restaurant and club hotspot for the people who ran questionable businesses. It wasn't exactly located in the best part of Gotham…then again; did Gotham even have a nice part?

The Joker's unique voice broke into her thoughts; barking orders at two clowns to follow him and for the other three to stay with the van and watch Samantha. She resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him.

He pulled her over to the side door, which was still open, and sat Samantha down on the floor. "Now you just sit there until I get back. 'Kay?"

The Joker gave Samantha a hard pat on the cheek and turned to leave. He stopped in front of Red and glanced at Samantha from over his hunched shoulder. "Keep an eye on her, she's a tricky little thing," he warned and continued walking away.

Samantha felt her cheeks burn. Just because he was probably 6'1, didn't mean he could call her 'little'. She was taller than most women.

"_Oh let it go!"_ she told herself.

Samantha rolled her eyes at how she was letting something so trivial get to her. He had always been able to do that to her. Samantha couldn't help but give a wry smile.

"_He hasn't lost his touch." _

Samantha stared thoughtfully at the trio of clowns guarding her.

"_Now to think of a way to get rid of the three stooges."_

…

The lead mobsters of Gotham were gathered inside the Thomasina Arms' kitchen, along with some of their gang members to act as body guards and to show off to the other mobsters. They were all sitting at some foldable tables that had been put together to make it large enough to seat them.

Salvatore Maroni, the man who took over for Carmine Falconi after his mental breakdown, was there along with mobsters Gambol, and a Russian who went by Chechen and seemed to be friends with Maroni.

Chechen had been the last to arrive and spotted the empty chair Maroni had been saving for him. He headed over and greeted his Italian friend by clasping his outstretched hand. Maroni used his free hand to pat Chechen's enclosed fist before he took the unoccupied chair.

Just as Chechen was settling down, two Asians entered, hauling a T.V. in and placing it at the end of the makeshift table.

The mobster to Maroni's left frowned. "What's this?" he asked annoyed, gesturing to the T.V.

At that moment, the screen clicked on, revealing an Asian in a business suit, with puffy eyes. This man was Mr. Lau, who was trying to get a joint Chinese venture with Wayne Enterprise, and also in league with the men gathered together.

Mr. Lau began speaking without introducing himself. His English was perfect but there was still a very noticeable Chinese accent.

"As you're all aware, one of our deposits was stolen. A relatively small amount, 68 million."

Chechen was hunched over the table as he rested his arms on the surface. "Who's stupid enough to steal from us?" he asked in his thick, Russian accent.

Unlike Lau, Chechen could not speak English perfectly, so his sentences sometimes came out choppy.

Maroni came into the conversation. "Two-bit wack job, wears a cheap purple suit and make up." He shook his head in a careless manner. "He's not the problem; he's a nobody."

Maroni mirrored his friend's position, hunching over the table and interlocking his fingers as he faced Lau. "The problem is, our money being tracked by the cops."

"Thanks to Mr. Maroni's well placed sources we know that police have indeed identified our banks using marked bills and are planning to seize your funds today," Lau informed them.

Maroni saw Gambol visibly stiffen from across the table in front of him. Gambol was known for having a temper. He squeezed his fists together as his chest heaved.

Lau continued on, "And since the enthusiastic new DA has put all my competitors out of business, I'm your only option."

"So what are you proposing?" Maroni asked.

"Moving all deposits to one secure location, not a bank."

"Where then?" Gambol snapped.

"No one can know but me."

Gambol and his men didn't look convinced.

"If the police were to gain leverage over one of you, everyone's money would be at stake," Lau explained.

Chechen pointed at him. "What stop them getting to you?" he asked.

Lau already had an answer for that. "I go to Hong Kong, far from Dent's jurisdiction and the Chinese will not extradite one of their own."

Maroni sat back in his chair before asking, "How soon can you move the money?"

"I already have."

Several eyebrows were raised at his statement.

"For obvious reasons, I couldn't wait for your permission. Rest assured, your money is safe."

Gambol didn't look very assured. Maroni didn't seem too worried, so Chechen wasn't bothered.

The sound of the metal door opening behind the group came as a surprise, and so was the unexpected laughter that came with it. It sounded so hollow and forced. Everyone's head turned in its direction.

"Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha …oh hee-hee, aha. Ha, ooh, hee, ha-ha, ha-ha. And I thought _my_ jokes were bad," the Joker said as he strolled into the room and cocked his head to the right.

Gambol glared murderously at the Joker. "Gimme one reason why I shouldn't have my boy here pull your head off?" he threatened while gesturing to the man sitting at his right.

The Joker faced him, looking not in the least bit intimidated. "How 'bout a magic trick?" he asked, calmly.

Gambol was caught off guard by his random question.

The Joker pulled out a yellow pencil and brought it down hard, lead side first, into the table's surface. He let go of the pencil and it stood by itself. The Joker moved his purple gloved hands around it in a mystical manner.

"I'm gonna make this pencil _disappear_," he told them.

The look on Gambol's face had not changed as he signaled his man by jerking a thumb at the clown. Gambol's man silently moved from his seat and headed for the Joker.

As soon as he was within reach the man stretched out a hand to grab the Joker's throat, but the Joker blocked his arm and used his free hand to latch onto the back of the man's head, swiftly bringing it down on top of the pencil.

The Joker released him and let his body collapse on the floor, while in one fluid movement, he extended his arm out to grab a chair and sat down as he used the other to motion towards the space the pencil _had_ been.

"Ta-da!" he sang. The Joker's eyes stared at the dent in the table and moved his hand like a magician. "It's –ah- it's _gone_," he said darkly.

The Joker moved his black eyes up to stare at the mob leaders, making him look menacing.

Chechen found himself nodding his head, slightly impressed with the 'magic trick'.

The Joker faced forward and began to adjust his coat. "Oh, and by the way, the suit, it wasn't cheap. You outta know, _you_ bought it," he teased.

Gambol jumped to his feet, but was stopped by Chechen. "Sit! I want to hear proposition."

Gambol glared intensely at the Joker, who merely wet his lips and pointed at Chechen as if to say, "You heard the man."

Gambol reluctantly lowered himself back into his chair, clearly loathing the Joker who sat at the head of the table.

…

Samantha put her feet down on the pavement as she sat on the floor of the van, and let her legs hang out of the open door.

The Joker had left about fifteen minutes ago and his thugs were getting restless.

Samantha had secretly given them names, based off their masks. Blue Lips, Whistle, and then there was Red, but the Joker also called him Red. Whether it was his real name or because of his red hair, it was the only name she knew him by, so that's who he was to her.

She tried to look as calm as possible so they would let their guard down; which eventually, they did. They didn't stand as close to her as they had started out and they held their guns lazily at their sides.

Blue Lips gave a sound that resembled a yawn. "Dude, how much longer is he gonna take?" he asked.

Red looked at his wrist watch and shrugged. "Who knows," he answered.

Blue Lips sighed and leaned against the hood of the van while Whistle amused himself by kicking a chunk of broken concrete across the pavement.

Red was the only one who seemed to actually be taking his guarding duty seriously, but even his attention was starting to wander as the minutes ticked by. Samantha readied herself.

When Red's back faced her, she knew it was time.

Samantha dashed out of the van and ran down the alley directly in front of her.

"Dude, she's runnin'! She's runnin'!" Red yelled. He and the two other clowns took off after Samantha.

She made it to the end of the alley but came to a high metal gate blocking her escape. Samantha climbed the gate without hesitation. Whistle jumped up and clung to her left leg. She kicked him off and continued to climb.

Blue Lips launched his body as high as possible before grasping the gate and nimbly scaled the gate. He nearly had her, but she jumped over to the other side of the fence before he could touch her. Whistle and Red ran to find another way to overtake her as Blue Lips continued to give chase.

Samantha's lungs were aching and she felt herself slowing down.

"_Keep going!"_ she urged her legs. She needed to think of something.

Samantha rounded a corner in an alley and Blue Lips couldn't see her anymore. He turned into the corner, expecting to find Samantha, but she was gone.

There were no other turns, the only way to go was straight ahead and there was no way Samantha had made it out that fast. He stood there, dumbfounded for a moment. Then a blow to the abdomen sent him crashing to the ground.

Samantha had leapt out with a lead pipe from behind a dumpster and swung with all she had.

At that moment though, the other two clowns had shown up and spotted her.

"_It_ _just_ _doesn't stop!"_ Samantha thought furiously.

Blue Lips groaned and slowly lifted himself off the pavement as Whistle and Red came closer. Soon the three of them had Samantha surrounded. She gripped the lead pipe tightly. Blue Lips took a step forward and she raised her weapon, threateningly.

"You want more?" she growled.

Blue Lips hesitated.

A movement was caught by the corner of Samantha's eye. She whirled around, ready to crack a skull, but the pipe was yanked out of her hands and her arms were caught by Red. Samantha struggled against him.

"Remember, don't hurt her, or else you'll end up like Simon," Whistle warned Red.

"I don't need to be reminded," Red mumbled. He glanced over at Blue Lips, who was hunched over, holding his stomach.

"You hurt bad?" Whistle asked.

"That little slut swings like a professional baseball player!" Blue Lips moaned, causing his comrades to laugh. "It's not funny!" he snapped.

They continued to laugh anyway as Samantha was dragged back to the van.

…..…..

The Joker made a winding motion with his left hand. "Let's wind the clocks back a _year_." He looked up at the ceiling briefly before returning his eyes to the mob. "These cops and lawyers wouldn't _dare_ cross_ any_ of to you…" The Joker gave them a questioning expression and gestured towards them as he shrugged. "I mean…what happened, di-did your _balls_ drop off? Hm?" He raised his eyebrows when no one said a word.

The Joker looked down at the top of the table and traced something invisible with his fingers. "You see, a guy like me-."

"A** freak**," Gambol hissed.

The Joker continued staring at the table. "A. Guy. Like. Me…Look, listen…" The Joker leaned forward and ran his tongue along the inside of his bottom lip. He looked up from the table and narrowed his darkened eyes. "I know why you chose to have your little-," he cleared his throat, "_group therapy sessions_ in broad daylight."

Gambol threw the Joker a sneer that went ignored.

"I know why you're afraid to go out at night…_the Batman_," the Joker said dramatically.

No one said a word but he could tell he had struck the very thing that worried them.

Maroni kept his eyes on the clown as he spoke; occasionally glancing at the faces of others to see that they were hanging on the Joker's every word. Chechen was definitely listening by the way he was leaning over the table, his eyes never straying away from his painted face.

"See, Batman has shown Gotham your true colors, unfortunate_ly_. _Dent_," the Joker waved a dismissive hand, "he's just the beginning." He suddenly pointed a purple glove at Lau on the T.V. screen. "And as for the, uh, the _television's_ so-called _plan_, Batman has no jurisdiction. He'll find him and make him _squeal_!" The Joker squeezed his fists tightly to emphasize his words. "I _know _the squealers when I see them, aaaannd…" the Joker merely looked accusingly at the Asian and pointed at him.

Lau covered the camera lens with his hand and the screen blinked out as he turned off the camera.

"What do you propose?" Chechen asked.

The Joker turned his attention to Chechen and the mobsters; brushing some stray green strands of hair from his face. "It's simple. We, uh, _kill_ the Batman."

This response received some chuckles of disbelief.

"If it's so simple, why haven't you done it already?" Maroni asked in a criticizing tone.

The Joker pointed at him. "If you're good at something, never do it for free," he replied.

"How much you want?" Chechen inquired, tilting his head to the side and sitting back in his seat.

The Joker pushed his upper lip with his tongue and moved closer to the table. "Uuh, half." That got even more laughs, but he ignored them.

"You're crazy," Gambol sneered.

The Joker's eyes instantly locked on him. "I'm not. No, I'm no_t-ah_," he said darkly, emphasizing the 't'. He chewed the inside of his right cheek. "If we don't deal with this _now_, soon…," he shrugged, giving a comedic look of uncertainty and then wagged a finger at Gambol. "Little, uh, Gambol here, won't be able to get a _nickel_ for his grandma," the Joker said with a grin.

Gambol's patience had worn down. He violently slammed a palm onto the table. "Enough from the clown!" he yelled and stood up.

The Joker rapidly leapt to his feet and took a step back from the table. He grabbed the left side of his coat and extended his arm, revealing the inside of it. Grenades were attached to the pink silk lining and purple strings were tied to the pins.

The Joker hooked his right thumb into the metal ring he had at the end of all the strings. "Ah-ta-ta-ta. Let's not _blow…_"

The mobsters shot out of their chairs' some swore, but no one moved towards him. Gambol froze in his place as he stared at the grenades.

The Joker gently tugged on the strings as he finished his sentence. "This out of proportion."

"You think you can steal from us and just walk away?" Gambol asked incredulously.

"Yeah," the Joker said simply.

"I'm puttin' the word out. Five hundred grand for this clown dead, a million alive, so I can teach him some manners first."

The Joker was silent a moment, licking the corner of his mouth before he reached into another coat pocket. "All right. Sooo, listen, why don't you give me a call when you wanna start taking things a little more seriously." He pulled out a joker card. "Here's. My. Card."

He slowly laid the card face up, on the table, his black eyes darting everywhere. The Joker began to slowly back away. "Mm-mm," he sang softly as he gave another playful tug on the strings.

No one dared to move, not even Gambol. The Joker backed up to the kitchen door and used his foot to kick it open. He ducked inside, finally turning his back to the mobsters.

The Joker let go off the ring and began to run as quickly as possible to the stairs, passing the two goons he had waiting for him. They hastily followed after their boss.

He hummed a little ditty he made up on the spot as the Joker slid down the stair rail and gave a carefree leap when he reached the bottom.

The goons didn't slide, but chose to take the stairs two steps at a time. The Joker let out a laugh and kept walking.

**(Must I really ask what I want? Okay; fine. Reviews! I want reviews! … Please. Much appreciated.)**


	4. Chapter 4

**(Hello there, sorry it's been awhile since I've posted. I recently got myself a job and it's hard to work on this as much as I want to. But not to fear, I at least spend thirty minutes a night on this thing so I won't fall too far behind. Anywho, I really am happy about all the people who have listed me under favorite stories and story alerts! It keeps me going. So do reviews…*hint hint*….. I like reviews. Oh yeah, and I do not own Batman or the Joker *tears up and composes herself*. But I do own Samantha Reads.)**

Chapter Four

The mobsters were still frozen after the Joker had left the room. It didn't last long though. Gambol flew into a rage, yelling about how they let a lunatic waltz in and insult them and then let the lunatic walk out. He and his men were the first to leave the building after taking the dead body guard with them.

Chechen turned to Maroni. "Maroni, what you think?" he asked.

Maroni examined his fingernails and looked back at the Russian. He shrugged his shoulders slightly. "Eh, I still think he's a wack job," he answered.

Chechen raised his dark, bushy eyebrows and motioned to where the Joker had been sitting. "But you saw what he did to Gambol's man. He might be useful."

Maroni gave him a doubtful look as he stood to his feet. He smoothed his suit before he spoke. "Look, this is our problem, and we'll fix it. Not by using some guy off the street who wears clown make-up. Got it?"

Chechen hesitated before he finally nodded. "All right Maroni, we go your way," he answered.

He took out a cigar from the inside pocket of his jacket and stuck it between his teeth. Chechen dug around in his pockets before he finally looked at Maroni.

"Got match?" he mumbled out of the corner of his mouth.

Maroni produced a pure silver lighter with his initials decoratively engraved on the surface, and held it up to Chechen's cigar. Chechen took a few puffs before he said 'thanks'.

At that moment, they heard the loud slam of a door from outside the building. They briefly locked eyes with each other and hurried to the window to see the Joker swiftly striding out to a van surrounded by thugs in clown masks.

Maroni's attention was grabbed by the beautiful face he saw with them. That beautiful face also caught his Russian friend's eye.

Chechen removed the cigar from his lips and exhaled a pillar of smoke as he gave a whistle. "Not bad," he said, nodding his head a bit.

Maroni squinted to see that three of the thugs had their guns pointed at the woman. The Joker stopped in front of her and said a few words to the young woman. Whatever it was he said the Joker was rewarded with a slug to the jaw.

The Joker went down on the pavement and put a hand over the spot the lady's fist had made contact. A thug with blue lips on his clown mask got ready to hit her with the butt of his gun when the Joker turned around and put out a hand to stop him. The thug froze. Standing up, the Joker faced the woman.

"_Poor girl,"_ Maroni thought. _"Any second she'll have a knife slice her throat. Such a pretty face, got spice to her." _

He watched with anticipation as the Joker roughly grabbed her by the arm and yanked her to the passenger's side of the van.

Chechen paused in mid-drag on his cigar, paying more close attention to what he was seeing.

Maroni raised his eyebrows. This girl was special! She had to be! The Joker let her live!

The Russian and Italian watched as the van rode away from the building, tires squealing against the asphalt.

"Who was that woman?" Chechen wondered out loud.

Maroni had been asking himself the exact same thing. He slowly shook his head from side to side, still staring out the window even though the van was gone.

"I don't know…" He let a dirty grin spread across his tanned face. "But the wack-job's got taste."

…

Once again, Samantha was pushed into the room and collided with the wall. She grimaced and stood still to regain her balance. All the pain from yesterday flooded back and combined with the pain of that morning.

Two hands slammed onto the wall at both sides of her head, causing Samantha's heart to leap into her throat. She spun around to face the Joker, leering at her.

"Naughty, naughty; trying to run away like that," he teased and flicked his tongue over his lips. He paused, taking in their positions and suddenly giggled. "Well, isn't this familiar?"

Samantha took a moment to realize he was referring to that moment by the lockers in high school ten years ago.

The Joker wrapped a strand of her blond hair around a gloved finger. He sighed as if he was unhappy. "Oh Samantha, you can't just go running off. What would you have done without me there to protect you, hm?"

"Protect me?" Samantha exclaimed incredulously.

"Well of course; we wouldn't want anything _bad_ to happen to you, now would we?"

"I didn't think you cared."

The Joker laughed breathlessly and let go of her hair.

"I. _Care_. Very. Much. Especially when the little _bir-die_ tries to escape from her cage so **she can go tell the cops where we are!**" he shouted in her ear.

Samantha couldn't help but cringe and shiver, making the Joker smile. He stepped closer, closing the gap between them.

Samantha pressed herself against the wall to put some space between them, but it didn't work. "Back off," she hissed.

"Make me," the Joker replied childishly, moving even _closer_.

He received a hard shove against his chest, causing his feet to take a couple of steps back to keep his balance. Samantha moved to slip away and had herself thrown against the wall again.

"Getting a little rough there, aren't we?" the Joker teased.

Samantha refused to show any hint on her face that she felt pain shooting up and down her spine.

"You see, Samantha, I can't let you go. You know things; for instance, our location. That's a big one, but also, you know _me_…not very well, but more than anyone else in Gotham."

"I don't even know you're real name, so how do I know you better than most?"

The Joker grabbed Samantha by the chin and thrust his face within an inch of hers. "_Aaa_ll it takes is _one. _Loose. String for everything to unravel; and you, my dear, are that loose string."

"What are you going to do?"

The Joker's hand moved from Samantha's chin, slid down her jaw line, and came to rest at her neck.

Samantha's breathing became shaky, thinking he was about to strangle her. She couldn't tear her eyes away from his.

The Joker ran his tongue along the inside of his bottom lip and ever so slightly added pressure to her neck. Samantha's eyes widened.

The Joker grinned and released her neck, moving his hands to her shoulders. He gave her a painful squeeze while he laughed.

The Joker opened his mouth as if to say something, but decided against it. He patted her cheek.

"I was only joking, Samantha."

By the look on Samantha's face, she didn't believe him. He turned away and went for the door. The Joker paused and looked back at her.

"Why so serious?" he asked with a laugh. He soon closed the door, leaving her alone.

…

Red was shoved against the wall and held in place by two purple gloves.

"Didn't I specifically tell you to keep an eye on her?"

Red braced himself for the next assault. He was jerked off the wall and flung onto the table. The table threatened to collapse at the sudden weight, but held.

The Joker flicked out his knife and held it near the corner of Red's eye. "Soooo, _why_ did she almost esc_ape-ah_? Hm? Can you tell me that?"

Red gasped when he felt the cold metal touch his skin. "Boss, I only looked away for a second! The others were supposed to be watching her too; I was the only one who-." He was cut off when the tip of the blade poked him.

"Don't blame them, I'll take care of 'em later. Right now, I'm talking to _youuu_; the one I told to watch Samantha!"

"Boss, I swear, it won't happen again!"

"I know it won't…" The Joker moved the knife to Red's throat.

Red paled when he saw the murderous look in the Joker's eyes.

This was it. He knew he was about to die, he knew his time would be soon. He had lasted longer than most of the thugs, but now he'd die. Red had always been the Joker's 'Go-To Boy' and it made him think he'd be left alone. He had only screwed up this once, and now it was costing him his life.

Red squeezed his eyes shut and waited…and waited…and waited. He felt the knife against his throat, but it was just there. It had only nicked him.

Red dared to crack an eyelid open and peek out, his face twisted in anticipation.

The Joker wasn't even looking at him, he was staring into space. His eyes landed on Red again and a mischievous smile spread along his face.

The young man didn't know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. He felt the knife leave his throat and Red held his breath, hardly daring to hope he'd live.

"I might have some use for you…," the Joker muttered.

The thing about Red was that he was the less dangerous looking of his gang. That's what made him a good 'Errand Boy'; he didn't attract much attention, and he was the one who thought more clearly than the others.

For now…the Joker would let him live.

The Joker released Red and bit the inside of his left cheek. "Go make yourself useful," he snapped.

Red practically flew off the table and out of sight, afraid his Boss might suddenly change his mentally unstable mind.

The Joker laughed in amusement at Red's speed and then pocketed his knife.

He strolled down the hall and entered the room all of his men liked to hang out in. He scanned the faces for two in particular and spotted them trying to be invisible.

"Bob! Dez!" he yelled.

The two thugs' heads snapped up and their eyes widened. The Joker twitched his index finger at them, motioning to come forward. The two young men shuffled over, their masks dangling from their pockets. Bob had the Whistle mask, Dez had the Blue Lips mask.

The Joker put a hand on their shoulders. "I need to have a _little_ talk with you two." His tongue darted out over his lips and a glint appeared in his now black eyes.

Bob and Dez glanced at each other uneasily.

"From what Red tells me, you two decided to be _lazy_ about. Your. Jo_b-ah." _

"He's lying."

"Uh-huh..." The Joker pushed his tongue against the inside of his left cheek and suddenly grabbed their necks with the hand resting on their shoulders. He moved his thumbs over their windpipes and pushed.

"The thing is, boys, Red has learned not to lie to me. Wanna know what I did to help him learn?"

The Joker slammed Dez's head against the wall and kneed Bob in the stomach. He bashed Bob's head against the wall beside Dez and kicked them both while they were down.

The other thugs were now watching nervously, wondering if the Boss would suddenly turn on them.

The Joker giggled as he kept bringing his foot hard against their bodies, encouraged by their yelps of pain. After a few more seconds of this, he stopped. He was breathing heavily as he crouched down.

The Joker grabbed a fist full of Bob's hair and pulled his head up to look Bob in the eye. "Now...do you want to retract your statement?" he asked.

Bob gave a weak nod and spit blood out to the side.

"Good."

The Joker ruffled Bob's hair and shoved his head away as he got up and skipped out of the room. He paused when he was halfway to his room and looked down at his brown shoe. That kicking exercise had given him an idea.

The Joker pulled out one of his knives and flicked it open, glancing at the blade and then at his shoe. A wide grin stretched across his scarred face.

_"That might actually work,"_ he thought.

The next two days were very uneventful. Samantha was let out of her room by Red and he let her take care of some personal necessities and have something to eat.

As he led her back to her 'prison' on the second day, she couldn't help but ask, "So where's the Joker?"

"He's busy working on something. He hasn't come out of his room for hours except to tell me to let you out for a little bit."

"Working on what?"

Red stopped walking and jabbed a finger into her shoulder, now bruised from her impact with the emergency door. "Listen, Miss Blond, you're getting a bit too nosey. If you knew what was best for ya, you'd stop asking so many questions." He shoved her back into the room and closed the door behind Samantha.

On the third day, the door was opened by the Joker. "Good morning, Sunshine!" he greeted.

Samantha had actually still been sleeping when he burst in. She quickly sat up and looked at him with blurry eyes. From what she could tell, he was still wearing his purple suit.

The Joker grinned at Samantha and hopped over. "Have a nice sleep?" he asked.

Samantha rubbed her eyes with her thumb and groaned. "You really _do_ enjoy making me miserable, don't you?" She looked back at him when her eyes had cleared. Samantha cocked her head to the side and stared at his painted face.

"You don't sleep with that on, do you?" she asked.

"Do you want to find out?" the Joker asked with a dirty grin.

"Forget I asked," Samantha sighed irritably.

The Joker chuckled and roughly pulled Samantha to her feet.

He took her to the main room and pushed her into the rolling chair which sent her rolling a few feet away from him. He leaped over to her and grasped the arms of the chair, pulling it close to him.

The Joker loomed over Samantha; the grin still plastered on his face."Sooo, Samantha, did ya miss me while I was busy?"

Samantha was quiet and looked away.

The Joker snatched her chin and pulled her back. "Eyes forward, darling, and answer my question."

Samantha set her jaw defiantly and looked directly in his eyes, but she didn't speak. His grip tightened. "Are you going to _talk-ah?"_

The Joker pulled out his knife and held it in front of Samantha's face. The light played against the blade and fell across her face. She blinked when the light shined in her eyes.

"Have I ever showed you my favorite knife? It's a real beauty, isn't it? Very sharp..." The Joker leaned forward, grinning. "Are you sure you don't want to know how I got my scars?"

The sound of a door opening made both of them turn to look. Red had come in and hesitated when he saw them so close. "Um...uh, you wanted me, Boss?" he asked uncertainly.

The Joker briefly exchanged a glance with Samantha and straightened to his full height. "Yes," the Joker said as he tucked the knife back into his pocket. "I need you to watch Samantha for a little bit."

"Boss, I'm kinda tired of being her baby-sitter."

The Joker licked his lips and cocked his head to the side. The skin at the side of his nose twitched. "Excuse me?" he asked in a low voice.

Red took a nervous step back. "I can watch her for ya," he said quickly.

The Joker flashed him a quick smile and gave his shoulder a slap. "Greeeat." He glided out of the room and closed the door.

Red sighed and trudged over to the small table near by Samantha.

Samantha sat in the rolling chair and moved the seat from side to side, using her feet to change the motions. She lifted her eyes to see Red, sitting on the table and watching. Samantha stopped moving and leaned back.

"Do you have to stare at me like that?" she asked testily.

"The Boss said to keep you in my sight at all times."

"You do know you can blink, right? I won't vanish."

"I'm not taking any chances. You've gotten me in enough trouble already."

"Then I guess we're even."

Red grunted and shifted the gun to his other hand. Silence followed.

Samantha rubbed a kink out of her neck before she spoke again. "Why are you working for him?"

Red surprised her by giving a short bark of a laugh. He looked at her, his light blue eyes full of sarcasm. "Don't even try that. Almost every prisoner we've had has tried that 'why are you doing this, I can help you' speech. It doesn't work."

"I know it doesn't."

"Huh?"

Samantha could tell she had thrown him a curveball. "I was just curious," she said and went back to moving her seat from side to side.

Red cocked his head to the side, as if he were examining Samantha for the first time. "You're different from the others."

Samantha lifted her head back up and raised an eyebrow. "How so?" she asked.

"He's brought a few women prisoners along before, not very many, but a few. They were pathetic. Crying all the time, fainting whenever he came at them with a knife, just _pathetic_ really. This one woman, she was a piece of work, I mean she was a real beauty. She offered to…well, you know…with him if he let her go."

Samantha's jaw fell open, surprised that the woman would make such an offer.

Red kept on with his story.

"You know what he did? He gave her this look, like he was insulted and said, 'I don't go for _cheap_ women,' and he slashed her throat; just like that. He killed every one of the prisoners, but with you…" Red shook his head in confusion. "I don't get it."

Red eyed her for a minute and shrugged. "I mean, don't get me wrong, you're a nice looking girl, but so were some of the others and...I just don't get it. He hasn't even tortured you yet."

Samantha's heart picked up speed. "Torture?"

"Yeah. He's tortured every single one." Red smirked at her. "And he doesn't go easy on any of them."

Samantha swallowed the lump that had developed in her throat.

"You wouldn't happen to be the daughter of someone really important, would ya? Someone who'd pay big bucks to make sure you won't get hurt? Maybe a friend of some rich tycoon? Rich boyfriend? Husband? Fiancé? Brother? Cousin-twice removed?"

"Now you're just being ridiculous!" Samantha snapped.

"I want to know! Compared to the others, he hasn't laid a finger on you!"

"Ha!" Samantha scoffed.

The door opened and the Joker walked into the room.

_"Speak of the devil,"_ Samantha thought.

The Joker put his hands behind his back and leaned forward. "I see you're still here," he said, smiling.

"I couldn't bring myself to leave," Samantha sassed, eyeing the gun in Red's hand.

The Joker followed her line of sight and grinned, giving a quick laugh. "Well, Samantha, I'll have to be taking Red along with me, we're going to be off on a little visit and that means-." His arm shot and he grasped Samantha's shoulder tightly.

She was jerked out of the chair and dragged from of the room. "That means you'll have to stay in your lovely room until I, uh, return." He turned to Red. "Get to the van and wait for me."

Red nodded and hurried down the opposite hall.

Samantha winced at the pressure on her shoulder. "Red told me what you do to your prisoners."

"Did he now? Sometimes Red needs to keep his mouth shut," the Joker growled.

"Is it true you killed all the prisoners after torturing them?"

"Is that what's worrying you?"

"Considering I'm your prisoner, I believe that gives me a very good cause to worry-." Samantha tripped when the Joker tugged her forward to keep up with his pace. Samantha rolled her eyes, knowing he had made her lose her footing on purpose.

The Joker gave an amused laugh and pulled Samantha to her feet. "You don't think that I'm going to give you _speciaaal _treatme_nt-ah_?"

"I know you won't."

The Joker's mouth twitched and he chewed on the inside of his cheek. "Good, that proves you're not stupid."

He opened the door to Samantha's room and bowed at the waist. "You're suite, my lady," he teased.

He straightened up and shoved her into the room, laughing maniacally as he did. The Joker slammed the door shut and locked it. He looked at the key before dropping it into one of his coat's inner pockets. He snickered as he walked away, humming as he went.

…

Samantha sighed and leaned against a wall. At least the Joker had turned on the light instead of leaving her in complete darkness.

"Allan…" she whispered.

She could not believe it was the same guy! For one thing, his mannerisms were different, but **ten years** could change a person completely. Also, he had called her Esmeralda and he brought up their kiss at prom. **No one** knew about that because she had kept her mouth shut, and 'Allan' did not seem like the type to brag about it.

"_Oh let it go! Think of a way to get out of this Hell-Hole!"_ her mind yelled.

Samantha paced inside the room, running ideas through her brain. She briefly glanced at the lock on the door and paused, looking at the lock longer.

A light bulb lit up in her head. Samantha went over and knocked on the door and listened. No reply from outside. She knocked again to be sure and still heard nothing.

Samantha took out a hairpin from her hair and bent it into the proper shape before she began to pick the lock.

After being occasionally locked out of her dorm room during her college years, Samantha had decided to learn how to pick locks so she wouldn't have to stand outside and wait for her roommate to show up and unlock the door. It was a skill that came in handy and it wasn't going to fail her now when she needed it most.

The door gave a faint click and Samantha grinned.

"_Freedom,"_ she thought to herself.

She slowly turned the doorknob and peeked out. No one was guarding her door.

Samantha slipped out of the room and locked it behind her, in case someone came by to make sure it was still locked. She quickly walked away from the room and made her way down a hall, soon coming to a split. It branched out into three different hallways.

"_Which one brought me here?"_ she wondered.

The sound of voices coming from the hall to Samantha's left made her panic and she ran into the middle hall. The voices faded as she went further and she sighed in relief.

A gasp nearly escaped from her when the Joker walked right by at another split. Samantha pulled back and waited for him to disappear around the corner. He was humming a tune as he walked.

The Joker passed her by and disappeared. Samantha let out a breath she had been holding. Apparently she had taken a wrong turn.

Samantha turned and was about to go back when the sound of footsteps came from ahead, getting closer. Samantha looked around for a weapon of some sort and her gaze fell on a broken broomstick. Samantha picked it up and turned it around in her hands.

Okay, so it wasn't much of a weapon, but still, if she swung hard enough she could do some damage to someone's head.

Samantha hid behind the corner and waited for whoever it was to show up.

A goon with a clown mask on began to walk in the direction the Joker had gone. Samantha carefully made her way down the hall, following the goon.

She raised the broomstick over her head and brought it down on the thug's head. He dropped to the floor, unconscious, his gun clattered next to him.

Samantha stood over the clown. This was her ticket out of here.

…

A few minutes later, Samantha was standing with the group of men, dressed in the clown's baggy black clothes which concealed her feminine form. The clown mask fit her face just enough to where she didn't have to constantly adjust it.

The Joker pushed through the double doors and made his way to the group.

Samantha gripped her gun tightly.

"_Be calm, girl, be calm."_

"Okay gentlemen, it's time to terrorize this city's innocent citizens and also meet up with a certain mob leader. Load up!" the Joker ordered.

Four thugs, five counting Samantha, loaded into the van while a clown with a pink tuft of fake hair on the top of his mask, sat at the front with the Joker. The van took off and Samantha's adrenaline began to rush.

"What do you think he'll do to the mob leader?" a clown with a smile on his mask asked. Samantha decided to name him Happy.

"Don't know, but I bet it'll be good," Whistle said.

"What do you think?" Happy asked.

Samantha couldn't tell who he was asking because of the mask.

"Hey! I'm asking you!" he said, giving her a rough shove.

Samantha faced him and shrugged. They didn't talk the rest of the way.

…

Twenty minutes later, the van stopped and the back doors were opened, light flooded in.

"All right, everybody get out," Pink ordered.

Samantha clambered out and saw that they were back at the Thomasina Arms. She looked to her left to see the Joker adjusting his purple coat. He pulled out a black trash bag, big enough to fit a body in.

"Who wants to carry a dead body inside?" the Joker asked with his permanent smile.

When no one volunteered, he sighed and looked up at the sky for a moment. He pointed to three boys. "You three, take off your masks. You're going to carry me inside."

The young men slowly took off their masks, confused.

Samantha was thankful she hadn't been chosen. She saw that two of the young men the Joker had chosen were Jamal and Red.

"The uh, mob leader in there," the Joker pointed to the Thomasina Arms, "wants to pay five hundred thousand to anyone who brings me to him dead, but a million if I'm alive. You'll be getting five hundred thousand…or so he thinks. He wants to teach me some manners. No respect for me, no respect for me at all. He's just," he pulled out a knife, "going to have to go." He looked at the gleaming blade for a moment, lost in his own mad world.

A few seconds passed and the Joker looked back up from his knife. "Gambol may have some of his body guards with him, so when I jump up, you take care of them. Don't kill them though, I have plans for them." He let out a laugh and licked his lips.

The Joker wrapped himself in the bag and the boys covered his face with the plastic. They began to carry him to the building.

Before they got far, the Joker started to say something. He pulled off the plastic and looked directly at Samantha.

Samantha instantly froze up and held her breath. _"Oh crap…"_

For an agonizing moment, Samantha worried the Joker had found out that it was her in the clown mask. He pointed at her and then at Whistle. "You two, stay in the van," he pointed at Samantha again, "You stay behind the wheel."

Samantha nodded and got in the driver's seat as the group began to carry the Joker again. The other clown, Whistle, sat shotgun.

"Wonder what's goin' on?" he said aloud.

Samantha shrugged lazily, keeping an eye on the backs of the boys, waiting for them to get out of sight before she…

"_They're inside the building! Now!"_

She rammed the butt of her gun in Whistle's face and he went limp. Samantha shoved him out of the passenger door and fired up the engine. She slammed the gas pedal to the floor and the tires squealed against the pavement as the van moved away from Thomasina Arms.

She was free! Samantha took off the clown mask and tossed it into the back of the van. She had to get to the police and tell them where the hide out was.

"So long, Joker!" she laughed.

…

Gambol leaned over the pool table and shot at the seven ball when one of his men came into the room. Another man came in after him.

"Yo Gambol, somebody here for you. They say they've just killed the Joker," the man said.

"They brought the body," the other man informed Gambol.

Gambol grinned. Today was going to be good.

Three boys entered, carrying a body bag made out of plastic garbage bags. They laid it on the pool table and stepped away.

Gambol and two of his men stood near the table. His men waited at both ends as he tore away the plastic, revealing the scarred and painted face of the Joker.

Gambol turned to face the boys. He had a smug grin on his face. "So, dead, that's five hundred-," he said.

Behind him, the Joker suddenly sat upright and buried two knives into the two men standing beside him.

Gambol turned to have a switchblade thrust into his mouth and pushed against a cheek.

"How 'bout alive? Hm?" the Joker asked.

The boys pushed guns against the heads of the three remaining men in the room. They forced them to their knees.

The Joker leaned in towards Gambol. "Wanna know how I got these scars?" he asked.

Gambol said nothing but stared at him in complete fear.

"My father wasss…a drinker, and a fiend, and one night, he goes off _crazier_ than usual. Mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself, he doesn't like that. Not. One. _Bit,_" the Joker licked his lips, "Sooo, me watching, he takes the knife to her,_ laughing _while he does it. He turns to me, and he says, 'Why so serious?' comes at _me_ with the knife- 'Why so serious?'" The Joker put the blade in Gambol's mouth. "Sticks the blade in my mouth, 'Let's put a _smile_ on that face,' _aaaand_…"

The Joker looked at the terror filled face of one of Gambol's men. "Why so serious?" he asked calmly.

The Joker quickly moved the knife out of Gambol's mouth and sliced the man's throat. Gambol gurgled blood and fell to the floor.

The Joker jerked the rest of the plastic bags off of himself. "Now," he began, all business like, "our operation is small, _but_ there's _a lot_ of potential fooor," the Joker grabbed a pool stick and grinned, extending both arms out, his hands balled into fists, "_aggressiiive expansion_. Sooo, which of you fine gentlemen would like to join our _team?" _he sing-songed.

The three men didn't know what to say.

"Oh! There's only one spot open right now, so we're gonna have-," the Joker broke the stick in two over his knee and looked at the broken ends, "_tryoutsss." _

He found which one he liked and dropped it on the floor in the middle of the men. He sighed and began to walk out of the room.

"Make it fast," the Joker said, breathlessly.

The boys released Gambol's men and stood back. The men looked at each other and then at the sharp end of the stick.

Would they really kill one another to work for the Joker?

…

When the Joker came back out to the van, he saw it was gone and Whistle was face down on the road. The Joker strolled over to Whistle and shoved him onto his back with his foot. "Where's the van?" he asked.

"The dude drove off with it; smashed my face with the end of the gun," Whistle groaned.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Hm." The Joker licked his lips and heaved a sigh of frustration before giving Whistle a violent kick to the abdomen. "Let's try to keep the cars and not loose them!" he shouted.

He looked up and down the street as Whistle coughed and painfully got to his feet. "Gambol's dead, I won't have to worry about him or his boys, but we need to move to another hide out. Can't have the police find us, can we?"

"What guy in his right mind would go up against you, when they're working for you?" Happy asked. He was a little surprised to hear the Joker chuckle.

The Joker turned around with a grin on his face. "Not a guy; a _girl_."

"The chick!" Whistle exclaimed.

Jamal started grinning. "Dude, you got you're face smashed in by a girl," he teased.

"A girl with a _gun_!" Whistle said, defensively.

"Shut up!" the Joker shouted.

They immediately stopped.

"Let's go!" he snapped and they began to move. "Samantha…," he hissed with a smile.

He was really fascinated with her. He liked how she wasn't the kind of woman that crumbled into a sobbing mass when a gun was aimed at her or when her life was threatened. He liked how she had the brains to escape like she did and had beaten a guy senseless.

Oh yeah, he liked her. _A lot._

**(Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you have any suggestions, I'd greatly appreciate them. If you also have some song suggestions for me to bob my head to while I work on this story, I'd like to hear them. I'm out! Till next time ya'll!)**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Samantha finished telling her story to the detective and waited. She had driven directly to police headquarters and asked to speak to someone immediately, saying she had information on the Joker. Samantha was set up with Detective Stephens.

She had left out one thing though, that she had known the Joker in high school. Samantha knew there were some dirty cops in the system.

If she told the cops and if one of them worked for the Joker; she didn't want to think of what he'd do to her. She wasn't so sure Detective Stephens was legit or not. He had listened to her with his arms crossed and a doubtful look on his face the entire time she spoke.

"How do we know that you're not with the Joker? How do we know this is not some elaborate scheme?" the detective, Stephens, asked her in a hostile manner.

Samantha stared at him, slack-jawed. "You've got to be joking!" she blurted.

"I'm sorry Miss Reads, but with the Joker we have to take these precautions."

Samantha put a hand to her forehead and massaged her temple, closing her eyes as she sighed.

"And you should be. The Joker…he's not like past criminal masterminds; he's the top guy now. Jack the Ripper, Al Capone, the BTK Killer, they're nothing compared to him. Don't take him to be** just** a wack job," Samantha warned.

Stephens eyed Samantha skeptically. He wasn't taking her seriously, she could plainly see that.

"Sure ma'am, leave us you're name, number, and all that jazz, and we'll contact you if we have anymore questions."

Samantha was still a few seconds, not believing what she had heard. She slowly stood up from her metal chair and left the building after giving them her number and other information.

She shook her head angrily as she made her way to the van. Samantha stared at it and suddenly kicked its front tire in frustration. She regretted the decision when her foot received a sharp stab of pain from the impact.

Samantha headed for the street to catch a cab, leaving the van for the cops to analyze. She slid into a taxi and gave him her address. She couldn't stop glaring the entire ride to her apartment. Samantha paid the driver and got out, storming up the steps of her apartment complex.

….

"How could he do that? He's a detective! He should be investigating!" Samantha exclaimed as she flopped onto her sofa.

She saw her radio remote on the small coffee table in front of her and snatched it up, flipping her radio on. Samantha stretched herself out on the sofa and yawned. Pure exhaustion was setting in on her and soon her eyelids grew heavy.

The melody and lyrics of 'Sway' began to play on the radio.

"_When marimba rhythms start to play  
Dance with me, make me sway  
Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore  
Hold me close, sway me more."_

"Would you like to dance, Samantha?"

Samantha's eyes flew open and she sat upright.

The Joker stood at the end of the sofa. Samantha was frozen in place as he cackled. She bolted up, only to be pinned down to the wooden floor.

"So you thought you could run?"

He pulled out a switchblade, stained with blood.

"Big mistake."

The Joker licked his lips and slashed at Samantha's cheek, drawing blood. He began to snicker as the blood dripped to the floor.

Samantha slugged him in the gut. The Joker let out a grunt and collapsed to his side. She darted to the kitchen where the kitchen knives and the phone were.

The Joker growled as he appeared out of nowhere and body slammed Samantha into the counter. She rebounded off the counter and fell to the floor, hitting her head.

The impact left her disoriented. The Joker grabbed her by the shoulders and leaned Samantha against the counter. He flipped his knife once, twice, and held it in front of her face.

"I really do not appreciate it when someone runs from me…they always get hurt." He put the knife to her throat and licked his lips. "Such a waste Samantha…Esmeralda." The Joker grinned down at her.

Samantha tried to scream but her throat was knotted up.

"You see, this is what happens to the people who squeal on me," he said and laughed and laughed and laughed.

...….…

Samantha woke up from the nightmare with a cry and lay there, gasping for breath.

She put a hand to her cheek. No cut.

Samantha looked around the apartment to find no one inside but herself. She breathed a sigh of relief.

Samantha looked down and saw she was still wearing the clown boy's clothes, so she hurried to her bedroom, showered, and slipped into a white tank top and blue striped bottoms.

She threw herself onto her bed and grabbed the phone off of her nightstand. She dialed two old friends' numbers, Alice Fredricks and Harleen Quinzel.

When she answered the phone, Alice nearly blew out Samantha's eardrums with her squeals and questions. She had heard about Samantha's disappearance and had been worried sick about her. Harleen Quinzel had also heard about it.

The two women insisted on coming over to her apartment immediately and sleep over for the night. Samantha had no say in the matter.

She sat on her sofa, waiting for them to arrive and realized she would have to lie to her friends. She'd have to 'edit' her story and leave out everything that linked with 'Allan'. It was best this way. If Harleen and Alice didn't know, then they'd be safe.

When the doorbell rang, Samantha opened the door and was almost knocked off her feet by Harleen when she launched herself at Samantha. She wrapped Samantha in a death hold of a hug and squeezed.

"I'm so glad you're alright! What the heck were ya thinking when you jumped on the bus?"

"Harley, I can't breathe!"

"Oops. Sorry."

Harley let go and moved aside to give Alice her turn for a gentler hug.

It wasn't long before they both started asking to her what had happened. Samantha told them her edited version of the story and what had happened at police headquarters with Detective Stephens.

Harley and Alice both frowned.

"You're kidding, right? He just blew you off like you had never even been a hostage for almost five days?" Harley asked.

"I don't think he's even going to make sure if the Joker's hideout is investigated or not."

"That's just wrong!" Alice cried.

"That's Gotham for you," Samantha told her.

That was one of the things about Alice that Samantha loved. By some miracle, Alice had still kept a certain amount of innocence while a good ninety-nine percent of the city's population had lost all of it by the age of five.

Gotham had given up on its police and any efforts of cleaning the city, until about a year ago. Some man who dressed as a bat and called himself Batman had taken matters into his own hands and began to change everything.

People were starting to believe in things again. Crime had actually gone down slightly, not much but it was noticeable. But with Batman came others who were not for the good of the city.

Jonathan Crane, former psychiatrist in Arkham, had gone rouge and was part of a plot to tear Gotham apart on a night the citizens of Gotham called "Fright Night."

Chemicals that Crane created to make people hallucinate their greatest fears had been released all throughout the Narrows, the _worst _part of Gotham, and near Arkham, who went through a break out of all of their patients. They too were exposed to the chemicals and all Hell broke loose.

Jonathan Crane had created a new persona for himself and wore a mask that resembled a potato sack. He called himself, Scarecrow.

Batman had put a stop to the nightmare before it had spread throughout the entire city.

Scarecrow had escaped but now there was another psycho Batman and Gotham had to deal with. And Samantha had spent five days with him.

Also, out of the crumbling city came their new district attorney, the handsome Harvey Dent, otherwise known as Gotham's White Knight. He was a whirlwind of plans to clean up the city and so far, he was having some success.

Harley and Alice tried their best to get Samantha's mind off of what she had gone through. They laughed and joked together just like they use to in high school. By the end of the night, Samantha had almost forgotten it had even happened.

"Thank you both," she managed to say before falling asleep on the sofa.

Alice and Harleen gathered some cushions from the couch, some pillows, and blankets and placed them on the floor.

"Why would the Joker keep her alive? She never told us why he didn't cut her throat like he had intended to do to her," Alice whispered to Harleen while Samantha was sleeping.

"Samantha's a beautiful girl; maybe the Joker liked what he saw?" Harleen offered with a smile and gave a long yawn.

"I hate what she's gone through," Alice said.

"Yeah, it's horrible, but it's just like her to go and try to stop a criminal all by herself."

"But Samantha's so strong willed, I'm shocked he didn't turn himself in to be arrested," Alice giggled.

Harleen snickered and soon the two of them fell asleep. They never saw Samantha tossing and turning in her sleep.

…..…..

It was the next morning when Samantha was woken up by the smell of food.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and raised her head. She stretched as she inhaled deeply.

"I smell bacon," she called out.

"You smell correct," Alice answered from the kitchen.

Samantha got up and found Alice and Harleen were at the oven cooking breakfast.

"Mmmh, it smells good enough to eat."

"I'm glad."

The phone rang and Samantha went to answer it in her bedroom so she wouldn't get in her friend's way in the kitchen.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Samantha Reads?" a male voice asked.

"Yes."

"Samantha? This is Bruce Wayne."

Samantha's brow furrowed. "Bruce Wayne? Gosh, it's been a long time."

"I know, and that's why I'm feeling kinda awkward about calling to ask you to come over to my place tonight. I'm hosting a fundraising party for Harvey Dent."

"Uh…I-."

"You don't have to, but I'd really like to catch up with you. I heard about that bank robbery and how you had been there and kidnapped by that Joker guy. I wanted to check up on you," he said sincerely.

Samantha hesitated.

As believable as he sounded, Bruce Wayne also had a reputation for being a playboy and careless. The burning of Wayne Manor only increased the rumors that he was nothing but a stuck up, drunk, irresponsible man. But she didn't want to be rude.

"I'll think about it."

"You do that. It's at eight and it's formal wear; feel free to arrive anytime though. Bye."

Samantha got off the phone, feeling a little confused. She left the room and went back into the kitchen.

"Who was that?" Alice asked.

"Boy Billionaire Bruce Wayne."

"Bruce Wayne?" Harleen squealed.

Samantha nodded.

"Yep, he called to check on me when he heard about the bank robbery and how I was missing."

"After all these years?" Alice asked.

"I know, it's strange, huh? We hardly even spoke in high school. The number of times that we did speak to each other would barely make two conversations," Samantha admitted to them.

"Hmmm…Interesting," Harleen said and put a hand on her chin, pretending to think hard. "Maybe he finally realized that you're the woman he was meant to be with?" she offered with a grin.

"Harley, you have an internship in psychiatry; can't you think of something better than that?" Samantha laughed.

Harleen shrugged and helped Alice put food on their plates.

"Did Bruce say anything else?" Alice asked.

"He invited me to a formal fundraising party at his place for Harvey Dent."

"Hurry up and eat!" Harleen nearly yelled. "Because me and Alice are taking you shopping for a dress!"

…

The Joker and his men were still at the warehouse while he had sent Red and Jamal out to scout for a new place. For now, his mind was on something else.

The Joker had gone to the room he had kept Samantha in and decided to investigate how she got free.

The room was completely empty…except for the tiny, thin stick of metal he saw on the floor near the door.

He crouched down and picked up a hairpin between his thumb and middle finger.

"Soo, **this** is how you got out, huh?"

He bit the inside of his check and snickered.

"_Note to self: Check for hairpins next time." _

There was the sound of a cell phone going off in the Joker's pocket. He looked smug as he brought the disposable phone into view. The Joker cleared his throat and pressed the button to talk, placing the phone next to his ear.

"Helloooo?" he greeted.

The smug look on his face increased as he heard the voice on the other end.

"Joker man?" a Russian accent asked.

"Speaking," the Joker replied with overly fake politeness.

He heard Chechen sigh before the man continued.

"I want Batman gone. He is problem, like you said. He bring back Lau from Hong Kong and gave him to the police."

That really didn't shock the Joker. He knew it would happen, he even told them it would happen, but did they listen? Noooooooooo. Apparently, no one took a guy wearing clown make up and a purple suit, seriously.

"We need Lau back. Find a way to get him to us."

"Who is 'us' exactly?"

"Maroni and Me."

"Oh? No Gambol?" the Joker asked with mock curiosity.

"…I know what you do to Gambol and his men. Why? Because he insulted you?"

"I tend to kill the one's who put a price on my head and presen_t-ah_ a problem."

There was the sound of a voice in the background.

"Sir, your table's ready."

He heard Chechen say he'd be on his way and speak into the phone again.

"Can you handle this?"

"Of course. Now, about my pay? I still hold to what I asked for."

"No; too much."

"It's either half or no deal."

"Fine, Joker man, half. Now get to work."

"Pleasure doing business with you."

Chechen muttered something Russian and hung up.

The Joker dropped the phone into his pocket and returned his attention back to the hairpin. He heard footsteps approaching and stood to his feet when the person appeared.

"_It's the schizo boy," _the Joker thought.

The schizophrenic's name was Thomas Schiff. He was a shifty, brown-eyed guy with a head full of thick, black hair. He always looked like he was shivering or expected something to jump out at him any second.

He stood in the door way, nervously fidgeting as usual. His eyes darted all over the floor, occasionally peeking up to make eye contact.

"Th, there's something on GCN about that Lau guy and Batman," he sputtered.

The Joker moved past Thomas and could hear the sound of Harvey Dent talking to reporters.

"Well, I don't know about Mr. Lau's travel arrangements, but I'm sure glad he's back."

The Joker's men were gathered a crummy little T.V., listening in. He spotted an empty chair and turned it around to where he could straddle it.

The Joker rested his arms on the top of the chair and leaned on them, all the while keeping his eyes on the screen.

Harvey Dent, the one who promised to clean up Gotham's streets and so far, he seemed to be trying his hardest to do just that.

A reporter asked if it was true that Lau had been brought back by Batman. The Joker's ears perked up. He couldn't wait to hear the answer to this one.

"I'm not aware of any participation by the Batman at this time-,"

The Joker burst out laughing, nearly falling off of his chair.

"He's lying! He knows all about it, you can tell just by looking at him. Go on, Dent, lie! Lie your face off to the public!"

The sound of his cell phone going off again made him stop laughing. He pulled out the phone and pressed the talk button.

"Hello?"

"Boss, you wouldn't guess what me and Jamal just saw while we were out looking for a new place."

"What?"

"Maroni, Chechen, and **all** of their members, were being hauled out of a restaurant by Lieutenant Gordon and the police."

"Maroni arrested?"

The Joker couldn't help but grin.

"Jamal says he saw the same thing happening to some other mobsters. I think Lau might have ratted them out."

"You'd be right, but they need the squealer to testify in open court, knowing Dent, he'll try to get that fast, so we don't have much time…You wouldn't happen to know who Maroni and Chechen's judge is going to be?"

"Not yet."

"Find out. I've got something that needs to be done."

"Right Boss."

…...….

When Samantha, Alice, and Harleen returned to the apartment, it was in the middle of the afternoon.

"Sammy, you're going to look stunning in that dress," Harley remarked.

"Thanks Harley, hey, do you guys want to watch a movie and have some lunch?"

Alice felt her stomach growl.

"I believe something is telling me to say 'yes.'"

She and Harleen went to the kitchen to grab some food, while Samantha waited for them in the living room.

She turned on the T.V. to find the news on. What she saw was a gruesome sight that made her stomach turn.

A crowd of people was gathered around a team of police and paramedics as a man dressed in a Batman suit and a rope around his neck, was lowered down to the street from where he dangled out the window of City Hall.

A question was splashed across the bottom of the screen: Batman Dead?

"Sammy, what are you watching?" Harleen called out from the kitchen.

Samantha didn't answer; her eyes were fixated to the words on the joker card pinned to the dead man's chest.

WILL THE REAL BATMAN PLEASE STAND UP?

The image changed from the body to GCN anchor man, Mike Engle.

"Police released video footage found concealed on the body. Sensitive viewers, be aware. The image is disturbing," he warned.

Samantha wasn't prepared for what happened next.

The image changed once again, this time to a man tied to a metal chair, dressed in a Batman costume he had clearly put together himself.

He was in a meat locker, surrounded by raw and bloody meat hanging on the sinister metal hooks from the ceiling. The white paint was peeling from the dirty walls of the room.

At that moment, Harleen and Alice arrived with their drinks and popcorn.

"Are you watching the movie without us?" Harleen asked with a smile. She looked at the T.V. and froze. Her smile faded as all three women watched the screen.

The Joker's voice came on.

"Tell them your name," he said as if he were encouraging a shy child to speak.

"Brian Douglas," the man stuttered.

The Joker snickered and the camera jiggled; apparently he was holding the camera.

"Are you the real Batman?"

"No."

"No?"

"No."

The Joker laughed some more as he tore off Brian's mask, revealing a scared, chubby man underneath.

"Then why do you dress up like him?"

He wiggled the mask in front of the camera lens.

"Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" he laughed.

"H, he's a symbol, that we don't have to be afraid of scum like you," Brian said, trying to sound brave but failing.

"Yeah, you do, Brian."

The Joker grabbed Brian by the back of his head's hair and jerked his head back.

"You _**really**_** do**! Huh? Yeah!"

Brian began to whimper and the Joker patted his fat cheeks.

"Oh, sh, sh, sh, sh, sh!"

He slapped both sides of Brian's face.

"So, you think, Batman's made Gotham a **better** place? Hm?"

Brian gave what sounded like a very weak 'yes'.

"Look at me…"

Brian continued to stare down at the floor; his whole body quivering with fear. Samantha's heart went out to him.

"LOOK AT ME!" the Joker roared, his voice suddenly shifting from high to a deep _demonic_ tone.

Samantha's heart stopped at the sudden change. This was a completely different side from the Joker she had seen during her stay with him.

Brian slowly looked up, his face terrified.

The camera turned from Brian to the Joker's face.

"You see, _this_ is how _craaazy _Batman's made Gotham. Youwant **order** in Gotham? Batman must take off his mask and turn himself i_n-ah_." The Joker licked his lips. "Oh, and everyday he doesn't, people will die. Starting tonight. I'm a man of my _wooord_."

He let out a string of insane laughs as the camera began to move around and he ran at Brian.

"No!" Brian screamed in terror.

The Joker continued to laugh in a way that made Samantha want to cover her ears to shut out the sound.

It sounded so disturbing, so different from the laughs he had given when he was around her.

The footage was cut and Harleen, Alice, and Samantha were frozen and silent.

Samantha was the first to move when she put her head in her hands and gave a shaky sigh.

"Oh my…" Alice breathed.

Harleen was still staring at the screen. "What kind of a mind thinks of these things?" she asked.

"A sick mind," Samantha mumbled into her hands.

"Maybe…."

"What!"

Samantha turned quickly to face Harley, a fire burning in her green eyes. Harleen jumped at the tone of her voice and looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

"I, I, I didn't mean it like that, Sammy!"

"Then what did you mean?"

"I don't know it just came out wrong."

Alice put a hand on Samantha's shoulder. "Calm down, Samantha."

Alice had a point. Samantha took a deep breath and exhaled.

"I'm sorry, Harley."

"It's okay."

After things had cooled down, Alice, Harleen, and Samantha soon returned to their plan of watching a movie and helping Samantha get ready for the party. The whole time though, the Joker's video was on their minds.

"I wonder if he chooses his victims?" Harleen asked herself out loud.

"He might have stumbled onto that poor man like he stumbled on me."

"If I remember correctly, _you_ stumbled on _him_, 'Miss Jump on the Bus,'" Alice joked.

Samantha smiled as she ran her brush through her hair.

Harley gave a sigh.

"What is it?" Samantha asked.

"Well…it's just that… the Joker seems kinda familiar to me. I just can't place how he is. It's driving me crazy," she answered.

Samantha gave a scoff.

"You don't know 'crazy' until you've been with him for ten minutes," she said as she began to fix her hair with Alice's help.

Samantha silently prayed that Harleen wouldn't figure out that the Joker was Allan Jordan.

Harleen shrugged and faced her.

"So, why don't you tell us again about how you got away? I love the part about you smashing a guy's face in with the end of a gun," she said.

Samantha whooped with laughter. "Alright," she said.

**(Alright people; you know the routine. I update, you review. I pulled my half, now it's time for you to do your part. The Joker would be disappointed if I didn't receive any. We wouldn't want that, now would we? … Nah, I didn't think so.)**


	6. Chapter 6

**(Okay, okay, I admit it! I got lazy and took a short break on updating. But, I'm updating it now. The Joker wasn't very happy that I was taking a break and decided to sing the entire time I didn't work on the story. *turns to Joker who is still singing* "I know you're singing off-key on purpose! No one can really be THAT horrible!")**

Chapter Six

At 9:00pm, Samantha got out of her taxi and looked up at the enormous building in front of her. The purple, silken, material of her dress fluttered slightly in the breeze and she shivered since it was sleeveless.

She checked her wristwatch and sighed.

"_Now or never." _

Samantha went into the building and took the elevator all the way to the top.

When the doors opened and she saw the crowd of well-dressed people in the large, lavish room, she almost turned around and left.

"_What was I thinking? ...You were thinking that you don't get out much. Plus, it's for Harvey Dent and he actually does his job." _

Reluctantly, Samantha stepped out of the elevator before the doors closed and stood frozen. She didn't know a single person in the room! What was she supposed to do?

"_I need a drink…" _

Samantha headed over to the refreshments at the center of the room.

"What am I doing?" she asked herself before she took a sip of water.

"You're taking a drink," a man's voice informed her.

Samantha turned to her right and was surprised to see Harvey Dent standing beside to her.

"Harvey Dent?"

"Yes, but I'm afraid I don't you," he said as he shook her hand.

He was just as handsome in person as he was on the news and newspapers. He was the image of an American hero; blond hair, friendly blue eyes, five foot eleven, slightly muscular. The look was complete with the classic cleft chin!

"Samantha Reads," she answered.

Harvey's brow wrinkled at the mention of her name and then raised his eyebrows.

"Aren't you the one who was kidnapped by the Joker?" he asked.

"That's me," Samantha said unexcitedly.

"It's really nice to meet you. I can't even begin to imagine what you went through."

"Well, it's really great to have you as our district attorney," Samantha complimented, trying to steer the conversation away from herself.

"Thank you very much."

Harvey looked around nervously.

Samantha chuckled softly. "You look like you expect the mob to jump out at you any minute."

Harvey's eyes smiled at her.

"I'm just more scared of these people; the trust fund," he replied.

"Are you really?" Samantha laughed.

Harvey chuckled. "Sounds ridiculous, I know," he said.

He took a sip from his drink and looked over her shoulder. Harvey spotted someone and grinned.

Yep. He even had the classic American Hero grin.

Harvey turned his attention back to Samantha. "Excuse me," he said and walked past Samantha to a woman with dark brown hair and a dark green dress. Samantha guessed her to be Rachel Dawes, his assistant and girlfriend.

An uncomfortable feeling of being invisible crept over Samantha. Where was Bruce Wayne?

Samantha heard a whirring noise and looked out the windows to see a helicopter landing on a helipad above the terrace. A few seconds later, the Prince of Gotham, Bruce Wayne, stepped out of the helicopter with three young women in short, colorful, cocktail dresses.

"_Hm. Looks like the rumors are true." _

The billionaire and the women entered the building, all smiles, and the crowd parted for them.

"Sorry that I'm late_. _I'm glad to see that you all got started without me," Bruce said.

He separated from the women and stood in the middle of the room.

"Now, where is Harvey? Where -?"

He spotted Harvey among the crowd.

"Harvey Dent, the man of the hour. Where's Rachel Dawes?"

The crowd parted to reveal Rachel Dawes.

Samantha thought she did not look too happy. Rachel had her arms crossed and a suspicious look on her face.

"She is my oldest friend. Come here."

Rachel began to walk to Bruce, arms still crossed. Dent's eyes shined as he looked at Rachel.

"You know, when Rachel first told me that she was dating Harvey Dent, I had one thing to say: The guy from those awful campaign commercials?"

Samantha giggled as the rest of the crowd laughed. Harvey grinned and scuffed the floor with the toe of his polished shoe, bashfully.

"'I believe in Harvey Dent'. Yeah, nice slogan, Harvey." Bruce gave him a thumb up and then gestured to Rachel. "But it caught Rachel's attention. And then I started to pay attention to Harvey…and all that he's been doing as our new D.A. and you know what? I believe in Harvey Dent.

"I believe that on his watch, Gotham can feel a little safer, a little more…optimistic. Look at this face; this is the face of Gotham's bright future."

Bruce waved his hand at Dent. "To Harvey Dent, let's hear it for him."

Everyone began to applaud for Dent.

"_Huh; I'll give him one thing, the rich playboy can give a speech,"_ Samantha thought.

She glanced over at Rachel, expecting to see her smiling but nstead caught the woman with her eyes narrowed at Bruce. She wondered why Rachel was being so hostile to him if she was his oldest friend.

Bruce looked Samantha's way and she waved to get his attention. He saw her and smiled as he came to her.

"Wow…Samantha Reads," he said with surprise as he stared at her. "You look … really …wow. You've changed. You look amazing."

"Did I not look good in high school?" Samantha asked.

An old man came around carrying a tray of drinks. Bruce took two glasses off.

"Thanks, Alfred," he said.

Alfred smiled and walked away. Bruce turned his attention back to Samantha as he handed her a drink.

"It's not that you didn't look good back then; it's just that you were cute and now you look like a model I should be dating."

Samantha blushed.

"You look great too, Mr. Wayne."

Bruce raised his eyebrows at her. "Did you just blush?" he teased.

She laughed a little nervously.

Bruce really did look good. Just as Harvey Dent looked the very image of an American hero, Bruce was the very picture of tall, dark, and handsome.

His hair was a very deep shade of brown, almost to the point of being black. It was slicked back and made him look dashing. His eyes were brown and when he had greeted Samantha, they seemed to be hiding a double meaning to the reason he had invited her to the party. Samantha judged his height to be about six foot three.

"_Taller than the Joker," _she couldn't help but think.

"So, I heard about you and the bank robbery and how you were there. If you wouldn't mind staying after the party, I'd like to talk about it?" Bruce asked her.

"It's not something I'd usually tell at a party, but…" Samantha slowly nodded. "I guess so," she answered.

Bruce smiled. "Great."

He looked around, his brown eyes taking it all in, and sighed. "I'll talk to you later, okay? I have a lot of other guests I have to shake hands with."

"Alright."

Bruce leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Samantha looked at him with surprise. He winked and walked away.

"_It's a good thing Alice and Harley weren't here,"_ she thought to herself. "_Their jaws would have come unhinged."_

Samantha glanced over her shoulder to see Harvey Dent a few feet away. His gaze met hers for a moment and he waved. Samantha waved back before he looked at someone else.

A few minutes later, she saw Bruce standing out on the terrace with his back to the crowd. Rachel Dawes made her way to the glass doors and opened one. She stepped outside, walking determinedly towards Bruce, an angry expression on her face. Bruce turned to face her and they stood with their profiles in view.

Samantha couldn't make out what they were saying, but it was obvious they were arguing. Dent soon went out to join them and left with Rachel holding his hand. Harvey took her to a corner with few people around and began to talk to her.

Samantha caught herself straining to overhear them and stopped. "Nosey," she scolded herself.

So she wouldn't be tempted at eavesdropping again, Samantha walked over to the refreshment table and helped herself to some grapes.

Samantha noticed Alfred go to the elevator and press the button. Right as the doors opened, a man came up behind her, offering a drink. Samantha politely refused, seeing he was slightly drunk.

"We made it," a familiar voice said. A voice Samantha had never wanted to hear again. A gunshot went off and she whirled around.

"_Goood _evening ladies and gentle_men_," a husky, alto voice greeted.

The Joker was walking out of the elevator with a shotgun, the bank manager's shotgun, and a group of men in clown masks.

Samantha was so shocked at seeing him that she backed into a metal tray, knocking it to the floor and causing a terrible racket.

She ducked when the Joker cast a quick backward glance in the direction the noise came from.

"We _are _tonight's entertainment," he announced and bit into a shrimp he seized from a table.

He looked around at the crowd of people as his thugs aimed their guns at them.

"I only have one question…," he chewed on the shrimp, "where is _Harvey Dent_?"

He began to saunter up to the crowd and aim the shotgun at them. The Joker snatched a young woman's drink, spilling most of it on the floor, and not even caring.

The woman made no protest as he tipped his head back and downed what was left. The Joker slammed the glass on a table and looked at the people, carelessly pointing his gun barrel at them.

"Do you know where he is? Do you know who he is?" he asked them.

He moved on to someone else, grabbing a man by the jaw.

"Do you know where I can find Harvey? I need to talk to him about something, just something little, huh?"

He put his hand on the top of the man's baldhead and moved it around for a bit. The man remained quiet.

"No," the Joker said irritably.

Samantha tried to hide herself among the crowd as the Joker kept getting closer to where she was standing.

The Joker stood in front of an older man and swiped a piece of shrimp off his plate. "You know, I'll settle for his loved ones." He stuffed the food into his mouth and stared at the man, waiting.

"We're not intimidated by your thugs," the older man said.

The Joker paused, still chewing on the shrimp. He looked at the man with a strange gleam in his eyes.

"Oh no…," Samantha murmured.

"You know…," the Joker put the shotgun down on a table and reached into his pocket, "You remind me of my father."

The man didn't know what to say to that.

Suddenly the Joker pulled out a knife, grabbed the man's head and put the knife close to his face.

"I _**hated**_ my father," the Joker growled.

"Okay, stop," a woman's voice ordered.

Samantha snapped her head around to see that Rachel Dawes had stepped out of the crowd and was glaring at the Joker.

He slowly turned his head to look at her, eyebrows raised.

"Well hello beautiful," he said with surprise.

He left the old man alone and strutted towards her. He swept his faded, green hair back, an attempt to look presentable. The Joker pointed the knife at Rachel as he walked.

"You must be Harvey's **squeeze**…hm? And you are beautiful."

The Joker stood very close and began to circle Rachel like a predator. She cringed a bit as he walked behind her.

The Joker stopped in front of Rachel, seeing the look of unease on her face.

"Well ya look nervous, is it the scars?" he gave a leering grin as he leaned in. "Wanna know how I got them?" he asked.

The Joker reached for Rachel's face. "Come here."

Rachel refused to look at him and kept flicking her head around to try avoiding his grasp. He finally wrapped a gloved hand around her face.

"Hey…look at me."

She looked at him with surprising lack of hesitancy.

"So I had a wife, she was beautiful, like you, who tells me… I worry too much, who tells me I outta smile more…who gambles and gets in **deep **with the sharks."

Rachel looked away.

"Hey."

He made her look at him again.

"One day they carve her face. And we have no money for surgery, she can't take it…I just want to see her smile again…hm? I just want her to know that I don't care about the scars…Sooo," he pointed to his face, "I stick a razor in my mouth and do this-," he turned his face from side to side to display the torn flesh and licked his lips, "to myself. And you know what?"

His voice shook as he spoke. "She can't **stand** the sight of me! She _leeeaves_. Now I see the funny side…," he swung out the arm holding the knife into the air and away from Rachel, "now I'm always smiling," he said and grinned.

Rachel took the opportunity and kneed him in the groin. The Joker bent over and groaned while laughing.

"Oh, ha ha ha! A little fight in you."

He straightened up and began to walk towards her. "I like that."

"Then you're gonna love me," a gravelly voice said.

"Hm?" the Joker managed to say before Batman appeared out of nowhere and gave him a blow to the face.

The Joker staggered back as Batman began to fight his thugs. He stared at the Batman for a moment before running over to one of his clowns and grabbing him by the arm. The Joker waited until Batman was running out of men before he shoved the goon into the fight.

Fortunately, the Joker did Samantha's group a favor by removing the person that had been watching her group. It gave them a chance to call 911.

She turned to the man beside her.

"Do you have a cell phone?" she asked.

The man nodded, his eyes flicking from her to the fight before them.

"Call the cops," she said quickly.

When he hesitated, Samantha's frustration welled up.

"Now!" she snapped.

He flinched and hurriedly dug out his phone. Samantha watched as he dialed the number and kept an eye on the fight. The man delivered a brief message and hung up.

"Now what?" he stuttered.

"We wait… and pray."

Out of the corner of her eye, Samantha detected movement. "…_ Did the man just cross himself?"_

The Joker tapped his right foot on the floor and a blade sprung from the front of his shoe. He kicked upward and the blade slid between the plates of Batman's body armor.

Batman sent the Joker sprawling to the floor on his hands and knees. While he was down, Batman busied himself with the remaining thugs until they were no longer an immediate threat.

When Batman tried to locate the Joker again, he was nowhere to be seen. Batman looked up at Samantha's group, searching for the Joker.

Samantha saw his eyes lock with hers and she pointed behind him. He turned to see the Joker with a gun pressed to Rachel's head and his arm wrapped around her neck.

"Drop the gun," Batman ordered.

"Oh, sure. You just take off your little mask and show us _aaa_ll who you really are, hm?" the Joker chuckled.

Rachel shook her head: No!

Without turning, the Joker aimed the gun behind himself and shot the window. Rachel flinched. He dragged her to the window and held her out over the open nothingness with his hand around Rachel's arm being the only thing that kept her from falling.

"Let her go," Batman demanded.

Samantha winced.

The Joker furrowed his brow and voiced Samantha's thoughts.

"Very poor choice of words."

He cackled as he released Rachel. Rachel let out a terrified scream as she plummeted down.

The Joker moved aside as Batman dived out the window after Rachel Dawes. As soon as he had vanished from sight, the Joker turned, still laughing. He froze when he saw Samantha among the crowd. He barred his yellowed teeth and gave her a murderous glare.

Samantha sprinted to the elevator, which had been left unguarded since Batman had distracted the Joker and his men.

She got inside and pressed the button for the main floor. Samantha knew that the Joker would follow her and that's exactly what she wanted.

She would lure him away from the partygoers so he couldn't harm anyone else.

"Take the stairs!" the Joker shouted to his thugs.

He leaped into the elevator just as the doors were closing. The Joker landed on the floor, looking up at Samantha. He immediately stood, glaring, and swung her against the wall.

"Samantha, what exactly did you think you were doing?" he hissed.

"I believe I was alerting the police where an insane, psychopathic, killer was hiding out."

"Do you know how close I am to slitting your throat?"

Samantha rolled her eyes.

That ticked him off.

The Joker shoved her against the wall again, making her wince. When she opened her eyes, she saw him holding a knife to her throat.

"This close," he growled. His other hand grasped Samantha's shoulder, keeping her from moving. "I'm warning you, Samantha, don't **ever** do that again, because if you do…I will kill you. I'm a man of my word." He licked his lips and grinned.

Samantha involuntarily shivered. The Joker saw this and grinned even bigger. The elevator doors opened with a 'ding' and he hopped out.

"By the way, I like the dress. It's a great color for you." He adjusted his purple suit's jacket. "I should know."

He laughed and waved at her. "Bye Samantha!"

The elevator doors closed on his retreating figure. Samantha backed up against the wall and she slide to the floor. She drew her knees to her chest and stared ahead.

"_He let me go."_

She couldn't believe it. This had to be some kind of a sick joke. Any second he would come back and take her, but he never did.

Samantha stood to her feet after a few minutes and breathed in deeply. She pressed the button to Bruce's penthouse.

…...….

Samantha stepped out of the elevator and was immediately surrounded by people wanting to know what had happened and why she was still alive. All Samantha wanted to know was if Rachel Dawes and Batman were safe.

Someone told her that Batman had grabbed Rachel in time and used his cape to slow their fall and land on the hood of a car. Both were alive and unharmed…well…probably badly bruised.

Like the Joker, Samantha and everyone else had one question: Where was Harvey Dent?

Samantha had seen him seconds before the Joker appeared and then he vanished. Samantha also noticed that Bruce Wayne was missing too.

She made her way to the spot she had last seen Dent and glanced around. That's when she heard a thumping noise coming from inside of a closet. Samantha saw that the door was locked with a metal pole resting in the handles.

"Get me out of here!" a voice roared.

Samantha quickly pulled the pole out and opened the closet.

Harvey Dent tumbled out, his blond hair askew and his necktie crooked. He looked up at Samantha and gave a frustrated sigh.

"Hi," he deadpanned.

Samantha got over her shock and bent down to help Dent to his feet. "Who put you in here?"

"I don't know; I-," Dent began to sway and she led him to a stool at a bar. He put a hand to his head.

"One second I'm talking to Rachel, the next I feel an arm around my neck and I black out," he explained.

Dent's eyes widened. "Where's Rachel? Is she okay?"

"She's fine, just look at me for a second," Samantha said as she grabbed him by the chin and examined his eyes to make sure no damage had been done.

Harvey smiled a little. "What are you, some kind of a doctor?" he asked.

"Nurse actually," Samantha replied. She straightened up when she was sure he was fine and let out a chuckle. "Looks like it wasn't the trust fund you needed to worry about."

Harvey gave a half-hearted laugh and sighed.

Five minutes later, the police arrived along with an ambulance. Around that time, Bruce Wayne revealed himself and made his way towards Samantha.

"Were you hiding somewhere?" she asked him.

"Yes," was his only answer.

Bruce knitted his brows together as he looked at Samantha intently. "I heard that you used yourself as a distraction against the Joker. Care to elaborate?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I ran into the elevator and the Joker chased after me; I wanted to get him away from everyone," Samantha explained.

"Very brave of you."

"Thanks."

"Tell me about your time with him when you had been kidnapped."

Samantha bit her lip uncertainly and looked around them.

"Can we go outside?" she asked.

"Sure."

They went to the terrace. Samantha then told him about her encounter with the Joker at the bank robbery, excluding any parts related to high school.

Bruce put a hand to his chin.

"And you're still alive? That's surprising," he told her.

Samantha rested her elbows on the terrace railing as she gazed at the city.

"No one is more shocked than I am, Mr. Wayne."

"Oh, please, call me Bruce."

"Bruce," Samantha smiled.

"Do you think the Joker might show up around you again?"

"There's really no way to tell, but I think he might."

Samantha paused and continued to stare at the buildings. Her face suddenly broke into a grin.

"My cell phone! He took my cell phone!" she exclaimed.

Bruce lifted an eyebrow. "Who did?"

"The Joker! Can't it be tracked down?"

"It depends on the type of cell phone."

"It was the right kind, I know it was."

Samantha suddenly frowned and slapped her forehead.

"How could I be so stupid," she muttered.

"What do you mean?" Bruce asked.

"I forgot all about the Joker taking my cell phone and didn't tell the police," Samantha explained.

"It's understandable, you've been through a lot," Bruce said in a gentle tone.

Samantha backed away from the railing, her mind reeling at the sudden realization that there was a chance to catch the Joker.

"I'm sorry, I have to go. I have to tell the police."

Bruce nodded and walked her back inside the building.

"Thanks again, Bruce, for inviting me."

"Maybe we can meet up again sometime and …catch up? You know, without the Joker and Batman," Bruce suggested.

"Maybe; see ya soon."

Samantha hastily walked to the elevator.

Bruce watched her leave as Alfred stood beside him.

"Do you believe her, sir?" he asked.

Bruce sighed. "I really want to Alfred, and I feel like she's told me the truth but…I don't know. There's something she's not telling me. I feel like I haven't heard the whole story."

Alfred gave him a knowing look.

"Going to look more into it are we?"

Bruce mysteriously grinned.

…

Samantha sat in front of Detective Anna Ramirez, who was on the phone with her boss, Jim Gordon.

"Yes, she says she can help track him down…yes, sir…..yes, sir…..We'll call you when we have answers."

Ramirez slapped her phone shut and jerked her head at Samantha.

"Follow me."

Samantha leapt to her feet, feeling like an idiot. She was still in her party dress and looked out of place in the MCU. She had long since kicked off her high-heels and was now carrying them in her hand.

"Where are we going?" Samantha asked.

"To someone who can track your phone."

They went further into the building and finally stopped at a room filled with computers. A man lifted his face from his screen and smiled acknowledging at them. His smile turned to one of curious amusement when he saw what Samantha was wearing.

"Where's the party?" he joked.

"No time for joking, Spencer, we may have a lead on the Joker," Ramirez said.

Spencer immediately grew serious.

"What have you got?"

"A cell phone number. We need you to trace its location."

Spencer faced his computer, hands hovering over the keyboard.

"Hit me with it," Spencer said.

Samantha recited the digits from memory and watched as he entered them into the computer.

"Okay, we're getting something."

Ramirez took out her cell phone and dialed Gordon.

"We've got it. He's at the Alton Warehouse."

….

Gordon hung up and started directing his team to their cars and telling them where they needed to go.

While in the squad car, the image of Commissioner Loeb's death kept playing in his mind. He had died right in front of him. He had witnessed it.

Gordon shivered in the warmth of his jacket. It did him no good against the chill he felt in his veins.

They parked out front of Alton Warehouse and scrambled out of their cars. Gordon looked over his shoulder to check if his men were ready. He signaled them and they swarmed the building, spilling inside, guns at ready. He followed them in, muscles tense. Who knew what they would find in there?

They went through every room, checking and confirming if it was clear. With each answer, Gordon began to get more frustrated.

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

_What if this is…_

"Clear!"

…_a decoy? _

"Clear!"

"Lieutenant Gordon! We've got something!"

His hopes rose slightly at the different answer and he hurried to the far end of the warehouse. He found an officer crouching next to an object lying on the cracked cement floor.

A green cell phone.

He knelt down, pulled a white rag from his back pocket, and used it to pick up the cell phone. Gordon doubted they would find any fingerprints; maybe the owner's but no one else's prints. Nevertheless, he decided to take precautions anyway.

Gordon pressed one of the buttons, causing the screen to light up. When he did, it revealed a message that was left behind. Gordon gazed at it and frowned deeply.

"Lieutenant?" the officer asked.

"Tell everyone to leave the building and report back to MCU. There's nothing here," Gordon ordered.

As Gordon turned away, the officer caught a glimpse of the message.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

**(So, there you have it...*looks at Joker* "If you so much as sing a single note, I swear I will hurt you worse than you've hurt any of your victims!" *Joker smirks* Let's bring on the reviews! They'll make me very happy... and encourage me to continue the story. Oh, and I still would like to know if anyone knows of some songs I should listen to while I work on this story. :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**(*types on computer and notices Joker looking over my shoulder* **

"**Hey!" *blocks screen from his view* "No peaking! You wait to read it like my readers, you're not so special!" **

***Joker frowns and walks away.* **

"**Good riddance." *resumes typing. Joker tiptoes over and once again starts reading over shoulder. I notice him.* **

"**JOKER!")**

Chapter Seven

He couldn't stop laughing. He had laughed since they left the party and the whole ride to their new hide out. The Joker finally began to calm down when the van stopped in front of yet another depleted building. He hopped out and looked it over before sighing.

He was starting to get a little tired of these trashy dumps, maybe the next time the group had to uproot again they'd pick a classier base of operations. No one would expect to find him staying in a classy joint.

The gang went inside and situated themselves, as always, the Joker got the best room. No one argued with that. The last recruit who argued got his tongue cut out, a slit throat, and a new smile. After that, whatever room the Joker wanted, he got; no arguments whatsoever.

As he settled into his new room, he removed his coat and his right shoe. He released the hidden blade and shivered with delight at the metallic sound it made. He gave a satisfied grin at the sight of a little dried blood crusted on the surface.

"So, he's human after all…"

He set to work, cleaning the blade and humming a bit. The Joker hadn't been able to use his new toy as much as he had wanted, but it had proven to be efficient.

In his head, he kept replaying the scene of when Batman had launched himself out the window to go after that Dawes woman. He hadn't even hesitated.

Now who would do that for her? ... Dent? The two of them were dating and Dent had never shown up at the party…or did he show up, but in a mask? ...

The Joker licked his lips and narrowed his eyes as he continued wiping his knife clean. Thoughts kept coming into his head, little moments that pointed to Dent as being Batman.

He chewed the side of his cheek and finished with the knife, pushing it back into his shoe. The Joker grunted as he removed his other shoe and moved about the room in his wacky colored socks.

In his remembering of the party, he kept coming back to seeing Samantha. He hadn't expected to see her there.

"_She really does look good in purple,"_ he thought with a chuckle.

"Maybe it's time to get more acquainted with Samantha Reads."

He'd have to do a little research. The Joker stepped outside of his door and leaned against the frame.

"Red!" he yelled. "Bring me your laptop!"

Barley a minute passed before Red came running to the Joker, laptop in hand. The Joker snatched it from him and disappeared into his room without a word.

Red called the Boss an unflattering word under his breath just as he was turning to leave. The door cracked open and the Joker stuck his head out.

"What was that?"

Red flinched and tried to cover up his insult.

"Nothing, sir."

The Joker lifted an eyebrow before drawing his head back and closing the door firmly behind him. He decided to let that little incident slid for the time being.

…..…..

Samantha slowly shuffled to her apartment door and began to pull out her key when the door opened for her. It barely registered that she was being pulled inside by Alice and Harleen.

"What are you guys still doing here?"

"You think we could leave before hearing about the party? How was it?" Alice asked.

Samantha tossed her shoes in a corner and plopped onto the sofa, sighing loudly. Harleen cocked her head to the side and blinked.

"That bad, huh?"

Harleen and Alice took seats on the couch, waiting for Samantha to talk.

"I ran into an old friend," she muttered.

"Who?" Harleen asked curiously.

Samantha lifted her head slightly to look at her friends.

"Let's just say, if I had dyed my hair green, we would have had matching outfits."

Alice and Harleen's jaws dropped.

"No!" They said in unison.

Samantha closed her eyes and limply pointed at the TV.

"It should be coming on GCN any minute."

Both woman made a mad dash at the remote and switched on the television. When the sound of Mike Engle's voice reached her ears, Samantha opened her eyes. She turned her head to face the TV and listened as he told about the Joker crashing Bruce Wayne's party.

"And also, the Joker is the prime suspect in the sudden death of Judge Surillo and Commissioner Loeb."

Now that was news to Samantha.

"He killed the Commissioner!" Samantha said.

"And Judge Surillo. From what I've heard, she ruled Salvatore Maroni, Chechen, and hundreds of others guilty for several crimes earlier this morning. She was like one of the only judges in Gotham who actually cared about justice," Harley told her.

Samantha pinched the bridge of her nose.

"_One less good person on Gotham who actually had the position to change things here,"_ she thought to herself.

Engle then switched back to the story of the Joker crashing Wayne's party and mentioned Samantha's attempt of drawing the Joker away from the crowd. Harleen switched her gaze to Samantha, one eyebrow raised in confusion.

"What are you, a bad guy magnet?" she asked. Samantha grinned and threw a pillow at her.

"You know what this means, right?" Harley asked.

"What?"

"It means me and Alice are sleeping over again."

Samantha dramatically widened her eyes and pretended to be horrified.

"Oh no!" she cried.

"Oh yes!" Alice giggled.

Samantha lifted her eyes heavenward.

"What did I do to deserve this?" she pouted.

Harley chucked the pillow back at Samantha, successfully hitting her square on the head. Samantha sat up and reared her arm back, ready to throw the pillow when Alice snatched it out of her hands.

"Whoa! Don't you think you should change out of your ball gown, Cinderella?"

Samantha chuckled and pushed herself off of the sofa and headed for her bedroom. Suddenly the pillow launched through the air and collided with the back of her head. Samantha slowly turned around and saw Alice sitting next to Harley, the very picture of innocence. Samantha pointed at Alice.

"Don't think you won't get punished, cause you're next."

Alice raised her eyebrows in playful surprise. Samantha smiled and went into her bedroom to change. When she had come back out, she told her friends what had gone on in the party and since it was so late, fell asleep on the sofa.

…..…..

The next morning, Samantha didn't want to wake up, but she knew she was about to anyway. She rolled to her side and suddenly felt the sensation of falling. Her eyes flew open just as she rolled off the sofa and landed on top of Harley.

"Ouch!" Harley yelped, making Alice jolt awake from her spot on the couch.

She almost laughed out loud at how comedic Samantha had landed on top of Harley. They were face to face with one another.

"Good morning, honey," Samantha said, trying not to giggle.

"Good morning to you too, sweetheart. Now please get off of me, you're cutting off my air supply," Harleen wheezed.

Alice finally started to laugh which made the others laugh with her. Samantha stood to her feet and extended Harley her arm to help pull her up also. Harley moved to the open space of the living room and began to stretch. Samantha and Alice winced at some of the positions Harley performed.

"How can you do that without snapping in two?" Alice asked.

"Easy, she has bones made out of rubber," Samantha joked on her way to the kitchen.

Harley laughed through her nose and stretched her legs.

"I just stretch everyday so I won't get stiff and also go to the gym and do a little bit of-."

"Gymnastics," Alice and Samantha finished for her.

Harley looked up from doing a split and put her hands on her hips.

"I have a feeling I've told you this before."

Samantha stuck her head out of the cabinet she had been looking in to stare at Harley, a shocked look on her face.

"Naaah, ya think?"

Harleen finished her stretching and joined Samantha in the kitchen.

"Tell me, Sammy; were you **this** sarcastic with the Joker?"

"Oh yeah."

Harley's eyebrows shot up.

"And you lived?"

"Nope; I'm dead. You're talking to a ghost."

Samantha received a sharp pinch to her arm from Harley.

"Sammy!"

Ouch! Ha ha. Yes, I lived. Apparently I amused him."

"Hm…"

Samantha glanced to see her friend had a thoughtful look on her face and staring into space. She snapped her fingers in front of her.

"Hey, earth to Harley. Come on down, girl."

"Huh? Oh."

Samantha pulled out three mugs. "Coffee?" she asked.

"Sure."

Samantha went to fix the coffee when the phone rang.

"I'll fix the coffee," Alice offered.

"Thanks."

Samantha picked up the kitchen phone and pressed it to her ear.

"Samantha?"

"Bruce?"

She heard all movement from her friends stop. Samantha could feel their eyes burning into the back of her skull.

"Hey, I was calling to see if your cell phone idea had worked out?"

"Oh, it worked, but not as expected. He ditched it in the warehouse."

"That's too bad," he said in a disappointed tone of voice. "Hey, uh, would you like to grab some coffee with me later on this afternoon?"

"Oh, um, coffee?"

Samantha looked at Harley and Alice to see them on each side of her, trying to listen in. They both nodded their heads vigorously.

"I'm sorry, I can't. I need to get back to work."

Looks of disbelief and shock replaced the looks of excitement on her friends' faces.

"Why!" Alice mouthed dramatically.

Bruce wasn't going to back down.

"Well, how about I give you a ride to work?" he offered.

Samantha was silent as she glanced at Alice and Harleen. Harleen had overheard his offer. She narrowed her eyes at Samantha.

"I swear, Samantha, if you say 'no', I will never leave!" she whispered threateningly.

"Would you be here by nine?" Samantha asked, defeated.

Harleen smiled smugly.

"Nine it is," Bruce agreed.

"Thanks, bye Bruce."

She hung up the phone and received a pat on the shoulder by Harley.

"Congratulations Sammy, you now have the richest man in Gotham asking to do you favors."

"Maybe being kidnapped by the Joker wasn't such a bad thing," Alice joked.

Samantha rolled her eyes and went off to her room to get ready for work.

….…

Bruce ran his thumb over the smooth surface of his phone before putting it away and returning his attention to what was in front of him. It was a computer system with many screens, all of them showing something different, but all about the same thing. The Joker.

He had been a side note to Bruce while under the guise of Gotham's own masked vigilante, Batman. But last night had shown Batman how dangerous and daring the man could be and now he was a top priority.

On the screens, images of the Joker were being scanned, surveillance videos of the bank robbery were being analyzed, and the video the Joker had sent to GCN was being played over and over in slow motion where he had showed his face. Bruce was going through everything that the Joker had done.

"Taken an interest in Miss Reads, Master Wayne?" Alfred asked as he made his way to stand next to Bruce in the center of his temporary 'Bat cave', due to Wayne Manor being burned to the ground.

"She's the only link I have to the Joker."

"Is that the only reason, sir?" Alfred prodded.

"You know I love Rachel, Alfred."

"Of course, sir; but what will your excuse be for seeing Miss Reads?"

"I've been thinking about that."

Bruce continued to look at the screens and knit his brow together.

"It's strange," he said softly.

"What's that, sir?" Alfred asked.

"It's strange that the person you pass everyday in school, you see laughing with her friends, and performing school plays; the one who's just there…is kidnapped one day by the most dangerous man in the city and suddenly she's more than what she was. She's a face and a name with a life. Not just part of the background. She's the most important link we have to this guy."

"The police don't seem to share the same idea, sir."

Bruce gave a low scoff.

"Most of the police are fools on Maroni's payroll. They won't get involved or pursue anything they suspect might reveal they're dirty."

"Which is where Batman comes in?"

"The Joker didn't kill her, Alfred. Every prisoner he's taken has ended up disfigured and dead. She came out alive and unharmed; why her? What's so special about Samantha? What does she know about him?"

Bruce rubbed his eyes with his thumb and inhaled deeply. He folded his arms over his chest and glared at the screens.

"He's rather bold, isn't he? You suspect Maroni is paying him to kill Batman?" Alfred asked.

"Targeting me won't get them their money back. I knew the mob wouldn't go down without a fight, but this is different. They've crossed a line."

"You crossed the line first, sir. You squeezed them; you hammered them to the point of desperation. And in their desperation, they turned to a man they didn't fully understand."

Bruce turned away from the screens and walked to a secret storage unit that was rising from the floor. Inside the caged unit were his new Bat suit and a few weapons.

"Criminals arn't complicated, Alfred. We just need to figure out what he's after."

The unit opened up and Bruce stared at the intimidating suit, thinking.

"With respect, Master Wayne, perhaps this is a man you don't fully understand either."

Alfred moved from his spot to Bruce.

"A long time ago, I was in Burma and my friends and I were working for the local government. They were tryin' to buy the loyalty of tribal leaders by bribing them with precious stones, but their caravans were being raided in a forest north of Rangoon by a bandit. So we went looking for the stones. But in six months, we never met anyone who traded with him."

Bruce had turned to face Alfred, giving him his full attention. When Alfred told a story, it usually had a very good point that Bruce never took for granted.

"One day, I saw a child playing with a ruby the size of a tangerine…the bandit had been throwing them away."

Bruce took a moment to process this and shrugged his shoulders slightly.

"So why steal them?" he asked.

"Well because he thought it was good sport. Because some men arn't looking for anything logical, like money."

Bruce looked past Alfred and focused directly on the Joker's face on the screen playing the GCN tape. Alfred's voice continued to speak.

"They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn."

…..…..

After much pushing and shoving, Samantha had finally gotten Alice and Harleen out of her apartment.

Alice had given her a quick hug and said, "Don't go jumping on any more buses, okay?"

Samantha had promised. Now she was waiting for Bruce to pick her up.

Samantha had slipped into her blue scrubs and pulled her blond hair back into a ponytail. She tapped her index finger on the table as she watched the clock.

A car horn blared loudly outside the window. She hurried over and peaked out to see Bruce had pulled up in a black Portia. A familiar black Portia.

Bruce grinned when Samantha came out and her eyes widened at the sight of the car.

"I don't believe this!" she said.

Bruce opened the passenger door for her.

"What?" he asked.

"I thought you'd be picking me up in…well not a Portia," Samantha admitted.

"Well, you came close to not riding in a Portia. A van almost rammed into me a few days ago."

Samantha froze.

"A white work van?" she asked.

Bruce quirked an eyebrow.

"Yeah."

Samantha covered her mouth as she suddenly began to laugh.

"Say 'hi' to one of the passengers of that van," she said.

Bruce's eyes widened.

"That was the Joker's van?"

"Small world, huh?"

"Very."

Samantha climbed into the car and Bruce soon followed. Samantha bit her lip and stopped him before he pulled away.

"Do you drive fast?"

Bruce flashed Samantha his perfect white smile and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah…" he answered.

The smile dimmed when he saw her reaction.

"Is there a problem with that?" he asked with some concern.

"I'm not much for fast driving," was her only reply.

Bruce shrugged and eased away from the curb.

"Okay, no problem."

"Thanks Bruce."

They talked for a bit as he drove to the hospital. Just about what they had done after high school. Samantha couldn't help but bring up a subject that seemed to be forgotten by half the city.

"After Princeton you disappeared for seven years. Where'd you go?"

Bruce tensed.

"I prefer not to talk about it if that's alright with you," he said, briefly glancing at her before returning his eyes to the road.

Samantha nodded in understanding.

As he came closer to the hospital, Samantha told him to not stop in front.

"I've been getting a lot of attention on the news recently, and if it's alright with you, I don't want my being dropped off by you added on to the pile," she explained.

"I get it; a girl like you doesn't want to be caught with a rich playboy like me, right?" Bruce teased.

Samantha shook her head quickly. "No! No, that's not it."

Bruce sighed as if heartbroken. "It's fine. Go on, forget about me."

Samantha shoved his shoulder.

"You're pathetic," she said as she opened the door and got out.

She bent over to look at him through the window and waved good-bye. Bruce waved back and watched her go until she was out of sight.

He drove off, trying to think of other ways to keep an eye on Samantha. He knew she was right. Being around Bruce Wayne would draw attention and that was not what she needed at the moment. If the public forgot her, maybe the Joker would forget her too, but Bruce highly doubted he'd forget.

…...….

The moment Samantha had entered the hospital; she was swarmed by everyone who recognized her face on GCN. Questions were fired one after the other at her, so she spent most of the day trying to avoid the attention and perform her duties as a nurse at the same time.

"So what was it like?"

Samantha sighed. She had been hoping to have a peaceful lunch that afternoon, but almost every nurse and doctor on break had gathered to her table and were swamping Samantha with questions.

"He was insane."

"Did you ever see him without that paint on his face?"

"No."

To be honest, she had only seen his face without the makeup back in high school, but ten years could change a person's appearance to be completely different from what you remembered.

"Did he make you…ya know, have sex with him?"

Samantha was sipping from her bottle of water when he asked and she started choking.

"No!" she coughed out quickly. "Why would that concern you anyway? That would be extremely too personal for someone to answer even if he did, you pervert!"

The doctor's face reddened and he skulked off. Samantha gathered her lunch and escaped from the crowd of curious coworkers. She went outside of the hospital and found a bench to sit on and finish her lunch.

Her beeper went off just as she had finished off the food. She looked at it and tossed her bag in the trash can as she ran back into the building.

Never a dull moment in Gotham General Hospital.

…..

The Joker had long since given Red his laptop back and was pulling on his brown shoes.

After looking up all he could find on Samantha, he looked up some other names in the city. He chose two men and called them, saying to meet him in an apartment room at 7:00.

He giggled as he remembered the sound of their voices when they asked who he was. The Joker hung up without answering.

Red had just returned from an errand and hesitated before knocking on the door. The door opened to reveal the Joker, grinning down at the young man.

"Ah Red, did you bring it?" he asked, slowly and inconspicuously lowering the knife in his hand back into his pocket.

One of the things he had learned was to never be unarmed.

Red handed him tomorrow's paper, wordlessly. The Joker snatched it from his hands and snickered. He moistened his lips and glanced up at Red.

"Why are you still here?" he asked in a low voice.

Red hurried away.

The Joker tucked the newspaper into an inner pocket and went to find his goons. He already knew which one he would choose for his next task.

The Joker threw open the door and looked directly at the man, as if he knew exactly where he would have been sitting. The Joker hooked his finger and motioned for the goon to come over.

"Melvin White, I've got a job for you."

**(So today I almost got rammed into by a car when I pulled out from school. No worries, I'm still alive to update this story. **** Isn't life grand? Hope you liked the chapter and send some reviews my way!... or so help me I will track you down and it will not be pretty!)**


	8. Chapter 8

**{Joker singing: "I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves! I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves-," (I try to block out Joker's voice with a pillow as I toss and turn in bed.) "Sing it with me, sweetheart! 'I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves!' …Shall I sing the 'Cuppy Cake' song?" **

**(I shoot up in bed and throw a pillow at Joker.) "Dear Lord in Heaven above, NO!" **

"**Well, if you don't work on the story, I'll have no choice." **

**(I lay back down in bed.) "I'm sleeping, Joker." **

"**No you're not." **

"**I wonder why? I'll work on it tomorrow." **

"**All right, you leave me no choice." (clears throat) "You're my cuppy ca-," **

"**AH! I give up! I'll work on it now!" (Joker snickers as I type.) *mutters under breath* "Spawn of Satan…"}**

**Chapter Eight**

The sky darkened and the few remaining good citizens of the city hurried to their homes and locked their doors and windows.

In Gotham, day was no different from night. Crime was constantly happening, but at night, it was worse, much worse. Anyone who had a lick of common sense wouldn't dare go outside just to take a stroll. Which is why Patrick Harvey was so nervous about walking to an apartment he had never been in before in an area of the city he tended to avoid.

He went into the building and whispered the room number he was told to go to.

"Number eleven, number eleven, number eleven."

Patrick spotted the room and opened the door. A sudden movement caught his eye in the dimly lit room.

The shape of a man, jumped up from the couch. "Who are you?" the man demanded.

"Patrick Harvey; I was told to meet someone here," he explained.

The man seemed to relax and extended his hand.

"Richard Dent, I got the same message."

Richard glanced at his watch and sighed. "6:55."

Both men sat on the couch.

"Any idea who called?" Patrick asked.

"Not a clue."

At exactly 7:00, a knock came from the door. Richard and Patrick stared at the door uncertainly.

"One of us is going to have to answer it," Richard said after a few seconds.

Patrick slowly rose to his feet and walked towards the door. He paused a second before grasping the knob and turning it. He opened the door just a crack.

It suddenly was shoved open and a leg kicked his stomach, knocking the air out of him. Patrick saw Richard leap up from the corner of his eye. Richard swore when he saw who had burst into the room. The Joker and another man had stormed in.

The man lifted a hand gun with a silencer on it and aimed at Richard. Richard swore again and dove out of its line of fire just as the man pulled the trigger. A bullet imbedded itself into the brick wall behind him.

The Joker had immediately locked the door behind him and lunged at Patrick, laughing wildly.

"I'm so glad the two of you could make it!"

He latched his gloved hands around Patrick's neck and hoisted him up against a wall. Patrick's eyes widened when the Joker shoved a knife against his throat.

"You really should smile more, Mr._ Harvey_. You're doing me a big favor. So is Mr. Dent_-ah_," he said in a dark tone. "You two are gonna be a part of my joke!"

In one swift movement, he slashed Patrick's cheeks, splitting them apart. Patrick screamed, causing the wounds to enlarge and more blood to pour. The Joker dropped Patrick to the floor. The wounded man clutched his face and couldn't stop screaming.

The Joker left him and grabbed Richard by the back of his head. He jerked on his hair and pulled him closer. "Na-ah-ah-ah! Where do you think you're going? Hm?" he chuckled.

Richard struggled in his grasp and winced in pain. The Joker also winced, but from the sound of Patrick's wails. He took his eyes off of Richard and glanced at his goon. "White, make him shut up!" he ordered with a snarl.

White put a bullet in Patrick's head without hesitation. The screams instantly stopped.

The Joker sighed in relief. "Ah, that's better, isn't it? Now I can hear myself think." He pressed the blood stained knife against Richard's cheek.

"P, p, please! Don't kill me! Please, I'll do anything!" Richard whimpered.

The Joker giggled. "Please, please, Mr. Joker! Don't hurt me, don't kill me! Take my money! Help me, someone help me! Please, please, pleeeeease," the Joker mocked in a pathetic voice. "Like I haven't heard that joke before."

He quickly dragged the blade against Richard's skin, giving him a similar smile like Patrick. "White," the Joker called.

White shot Richard down.

The Joker strolled around the room, looking at his surroundings as if two men had not been murdered. He kicked Patrick's limp arm out of his path and stepped over Richard's body as he headed for a small table.

The Joker snapped his fingers at White and the man hurried over. "Put them in the chairs," he told him.

White scrambled to carry out his command. He grabbed the man closest to him and started dragging him across the floor. His eyes fell upon a name tag clipped to the man's collar. 'Richard _Dent_.' He looked at the other man to find he also wore a name tag. 'Patrick _Harvey_.'

"Boss, did you plan that?"

He got a giggle for an answer.

When the men were in the chairs, the Joker pulled out two tubes of face paint; black and white; and a tube of red lipstick. White watched as the Joker smeared the paint onto their faces just like he wore his make-up. When he was finished, he carelessly pushed their heads down onto the table with a loud thunk, causing the items on it to rattle.

"Boss?"

The Joker looked up to see White was getting jumpy. Why would he be? White had used a silencer on the gun, no one was home in the neighboring rooms, they had slipped into the building unobserved, and as for someone overhearing the screams; no one cared to check it out.

The Joker fished a deck of playing cards out of his pocket and pulled out several joker cards. Each one was different from the other. He placed a few in each man's hand and put a few more in the center of the table.

The Joker retrieved the newspaper from his inner pocket and opened it up to the obituaries column. "_Red, didn't screw up_," he thought as he looked over the article in _The Gotham Times_. A grin spread across his lips as he stared at the picture of Mayor Anthony Garcia. It looked so plain.

The Joker searched for a red and black marker. He found them in a cup on the table. Uncapping the markers, he immediately started to doodle on the picture. He drew dark circles around the eyes and outlined the lips in red. He wrote a few 'HA HA's and Xs and Os around the picture.

White shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he waited for his Boss to finish what he had come for.

The Joker rolled his eyes and sighed. Why couldn't his recruits be more like him? Did he look nervous? Of course not!

He finished his doodling and folded the paper in half. He placed a water glass on top of it to make sure it stayed put until the authorities or Batman arrived.

The Joker brought his cell phone in sight and dialed '911'.

White about had a heart attack. "Boss, what are you doing?" he exploded.

"Sh!" the Joker said, putting a finger over his red lips. He ran his tongue over his mouth and listened.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"Good evening, Miss Operator, I'm afraid there's been a murder."

"Your name sir?"

He grinned when he heard the quiver in her voice. She knew the man she was talking to was no ordinary guy. "Eighth and Orchard. You'll find Harvey Dent there."

"…Harvey Dent?"

The Joker quickly cut the connection and slipped the phone back into his pocket. He jerked his head at White. "Let's go."

White happily followed him out of the apartment and down the stairs.

…

Samantha watched the 9:00 news while she sat on her sofa, chin in hand. She lightly bit her lip when Mike Engel told of the Joker's most recent victims; Richard Dent and Patrick Harvey.

"The two men's mouths were slashed open in an identical fashion like the Joker. The families mourn the loss of their loved ones. Patrick Harvey leaves behind a wife and a twelve year old son."

Samantha squeezed her eyes shut as she listened to Engel informing Gotham of the Joker's plan to kill Mayor Anthony Garcia.

Her emerald eyes flew open.

"_The Mayor?"_

He was going to give a speech in honor of the late Commissioner Loeb the following morning. For some reason, Samantha felt she needed to be there. She could be on the look out for the Clown.

Samantha had made up her mind. She would be there.

A slight pain began to develop in her head. Samantha clicked the TV off and lightly massaged the spot where the pain was coming from. She took some mild painkillers before going to bed. The pain gradually dissolved and let her sleep.

…

As soon as Samantha was awake, she got ready with a speed she hadn't used since she discovered she had slept in on a school day.

Since the parade would be in honor of the deceased, Samantha dressed in black. She threw on her black sweater, a black scarf and a black sock hat.

She stuffed her hair into the hat, a slight attempt at disguise so no one would recognize her. She would have worn sunglasses but it wasn't very sunny outside. It was grey and cloudy, she would just draw attention to herself if she wore them.

The parade wasn't very far, so she could walk.

Samantha heard it before she saw it. The sound of bagpipes reached her ears and she soon came upon a crowd. There weren't that many citizens who had gathered; mostly it was a big procession of cops in uniform marching down the street.

"_I need a better view." _

Samantha pushed past people and passed news anchor Mike Engel as he was reporting live.

"With no word from the Batman, even as they mourn Commissioner Loeb, these cops have to wonder if the Joker will make good on his threat in the obituary column of _The Gotham Times_ to kill the mayor."

Samantha bumped into a man with graying brown hair, a moustache, black-rimmed glasses, and carrying a walkie-talkie. She recognized him as Lieutenant Jim Gordon.

"Sorry," he apologized and hurried on. He soon joined the parade and stood next to Anna Ramirez as they made their way to a stage set up in the center of the street.

When the procession finally came to a halt, Mayor Garcia stepped up to the podium.

"Commissioner Loeb dedicated his life to law enforcement and to the protection of his community."

Samantha saw the commissioner's family sitting behind the mayor, along with Harvey Dent, Rachel Dawes, and Jim Gordon.

The mayor continued with his speech.

"I remember when I, I first took office, and I asked if he wanted to stay on as commissioner and he said he would, provided I kept my politics out of his office. Clearly he was not a man who minced words, nor should he have been. A number of policies that he enacted as commissioner were unpopular. Policies that flooded my office with angry calls and letters…"

Samantha's attention began to waver and she started searching for anything out of the ordinary, but in Gotham, some of the 'out of the ordinary' things were normal to its citizens. So she just looked for anything that screamed, 'Joker!'

"_Couldn't they have chosen to have the speech in the park where there are no windows?" _she wondered, looking around at the ocean of windows on every building lining the street. _"He could be behind any one of them."_

Apparently Jim Gordon was thinking the same thing. He was constantly scanning the windows.

The mayor did not seem nervous at all. It was as if he didn't know the Joker had him pegged as his next target. Mayor Garcia carried on.

A very tall man obstructed Samantha's line of sight. She tried to see over him by lifting herself on her toes, but it didn't work.

Samantha grunted. _"Great, Goliath decided to join us." _

She weaved herself through the crowd to a closer spot near the podium and a clear view. Garcia was concluding his speech.

"And as we recognize the sacrifice of this man, we must remember that vigilance is the price of safety." Garcia backed away a few steps from the podium.

The Honor Guards waited as their leader stepped up and began to give orders.

"Stand by! Honor guard! Attention! Port arms!" The guards lifted their rifles from their sides. "Ready! Aim!" The guards aimed into the air. "Fire!"

A wave of gunshots was heard. The guards waited for the order again. "Ready! Aim! Fire!"

Another wave of shots, but this time it sounded off; like there had been extra shots fired.

Gordon had noticed it too. His head jerked up to the windows.

"Ready! Aim!-"

That's when Samantha saw the whole row of Honor Guards change direction and aim at the mayor.

The one in front grinned evilly and pulled the trigger just as Gordon leapt out of his chair and tackled Garcia to the platform's floor.

Samantha watched as that one bullet caused complete chaos among the crowd.

The police scattered, the onlookers panicked and began running in all directions.

Samantha was jabbed, shoved, pushed and carried away by the crowd until she found herself in the middle of the street.

One of the Guards was shot in the leg and brought down by the few officers who had not fled and were trying to get things under control.

Scattered gunfire was heard, making the situation even worse.

Samantha felt a hand shove her to the side. She fell to the pavement, scrapping her hands on the rough surface and her hair spilled out from underneath her hat. She looked to the right just in time to see the one who had shot at the mayor. He looked straight at Samantha and grinned before running off.

She hadn't gotten a good look at him, but she had seen the scars.

The Joker had been right there! Smack dab in the open! And no one noticed? Sure he wasn't wearing his make-up, but the _scars_! Who couldn't notice them?

Samantha picked herself up off of the road and anxiously looked to see if she could spot him.

He had disappeared.

"_Did he hit the mayor?"_ she wondered.

She craned her neck around to the platform and saw Garcia being escorted away. An officer was kneeling by a still body on the floor, checking the pulse.

Samantha hurried over to the stage. When she was a little closer, she recognized the prone body was Lieutenant Gordon.

"Officer! I can help, I'm a nurse!" she called out.

Samantha reached the stage as the officer sat back, still staring at the man.

"He can't be helped," the officer said, sadly.

Samantha met the man's gaze and her jaw dropped.

"You," she whispered angrily.

Detective Stephens looked shocked. "You…Miss Reads?"

Samantha's eyes hardened. She inclined her head at the dead man. "Bet you're wishing you had taken me more seriously, huh?" she asked in an icy tone.

Stephens lowered his head in shame as Samantha gave one last look at the dead man and walked away. Stephens watched her disappear into the crowd of chaos he could have prevented if he had listened to her.

...…..

The Joker pressed his back against the wall and looked out at the panicky crowd running around like ants. He pushed the inside of his bottom lip with his tongue and then licked his lips. The skin near his nose twitched.

"_Stupid Lieutenant! Why did he have to have such quick reflexes? He ruined the joke! The mayor was supposed to die, not him." _

He tried to spot his men among the crowd, but it was hard with everyone running like chickens with their heads cut off.

The Joker had seen Thomas Schiff get shot in the leg and taken away by the police. So he was one man less than when he had arrived. Unless more had been captured. He should probably start heading to the van, see how many he had lost. He couldn't loose too many. Oh no no no no no. He had a lot more in store and it wouldn't work if he kept loosing men.

The Joker pulled his hat low over his eyes and kept his head down as he ran from the wall and threaded his way through the crowd again.

"Hey you! Grab him!" an officer yelled out at the Joker.

The Joker recognized the man he was ordered to chase after was one of his own thugs.

The Joker signaled to show he had heard the officer and sprinted after the fake guard with no intention of bringing him back.

The thug looked over his shoulder and thought he was being chased by a real guard, so he redoubled his efforts at running.

The Joker let out a frustrated sigh and increased his speed. He caught up and latched onto the thug's arm.

"Darren!" the Joker snapped when he tried to fight him off.

Darren immediately stopped and looked at his face. Relief instantly washed over him. "Oh Boss, it's you!"

"Get to the van," the Joker hissed, releasing his arm. Darren nodded and both began to run. They arrived at the van and found all but one of the team waiting.

"Boss, Schiff hasn't showed up yet," Red informed him.

"Schiff's not coming. You drive," the Joker nodded for Red to take the wheel as he climbed into the passenger seat in front and everyone else piled into the back.

Red hesitated. "But what about Schiff?"

"Get in the van and drive!" the Joker yelled.

Red jumped behind the wheel and started the engine. He knew not to be slow when the Boss was like this. He had overheard the others talking about how the plan to kill Mayor Garcia had failed.

If Red wanted to live to see tomorrow, he would have to be walking on his toes around the Joker.

Little was said between them as Red drove. From the corner of his eye, he saw the Joker whip off his guard cap and use the other hand to shake his wild, greenish blond hair loose. He tossed the cap on the floor and turned his face to stare out the window, glaring.

The Joker's mind was going everywhere at once, rethinking his plan since the lieutenant had thrown him a curve ball.

Speaking of a curve ball, spotting Samantha had been a nice surprise.

A smirk worked its way onto his scarred lips.

The look on her face had been priceless. Of course he didn't know it was her when he pushed her aside. The way her eyes had widened when she recognized him…he had been in plain sight, scars bared for all to see, yet no one had paid attention! He might as well have been invisible! How many people on Earth had scars like his?

The Joker touched the corner of his mouth with his tongue and ran a hand through his hair.

Again, Samantha was at the same place he was, and he hadn't planned that. It was amusing to say the least. It might become a problem in the future if they kept 'bumping' into each other. Eh, he'd think about that later.

Now, about the failed assassination.

The Joker wasn't worried about Thomas Schiff. He had planned for him to get caught, though getting a bullet in the leg was not what he had in mind at first, but if that's what it took, then so be it.

Schiff was carrying a special message for Harvey Dent. Schiff's uniform had a certain woman's name on it; Rachel Dawes.

The Joker snickered at the thought of how Dent would react when he found his little clue. What would he do to Schiff? Oh well; not his problem.

His thoughts drifted back to Samantha.

How good of a view did she get of his face? He hadn't stayed still too long. She probably got a brief glimpse of his scars and that was all.

He lightly touched his right scar.

Once, a long time ago, he had hated them, now he was quite fond of them and liked to show them off. He also loved telling people how he got them. Everyone always listened to his stories, but Samantha didn't seem to like hearing them.

It was probably for the best. Some of the stories he came up with weren't suitable for a beautiful girl like her. But one day he'd tell her, one day she'd listen, one day he'd make her smile and laugh.

"_Smile for me, Samantha…"_

The Joker suddenly twisted his thin body around in his seat to face the men in the back.

"Sooo, boys, who's hungry?"

…

Samantha got out of the middle of the street and stepped onto the sidewalk as people still ran past her.

She was deeply regretting what she'd said to Detective Stephens.

"_Curse me and my guilty conscious!" _

The sound of a motorcycle drew her attention.

She saw a red motorcycle coming her way. The driver pulled over and seemed to look directly at her, but it was hard to tell because of the helmet.

As if sensing her confusion, the man removed his head gear.

"Bruce?"

He motioned for her to come forward. "Get on!" he told her. Bruce didn't seem to be playing around.

"You know I don't like fast moving vehicles, Bruce."

His face grew stern and the tone in his voice surprised her. "Get on the bike."

Samantha hurried to him and threw a leg over the motorcycle. She sat down on the space Bruce provided for her and put her arms around his middle.

"Just hold tight and close your eyes," Bruce told her in a softer tone. He put his helmet back on and felt Samantha's arms tense.

The moment the bike moved away, her arms tightened around him with such intensity, it took him by surprise. She had more than just a mere 'dislike' of being on a fast vehicle. Bruce would have slowed down to ease her discomfort, but he had to get her away from there.

Samantha thought he was out for a joy ride, but that was the farthest thing from it.

The night before, when the double homicide had taken place, Bruce had gone there as Batman and found the entry point of a bullet in a brick wall. He had taken fingerprints off of it and discovered the owner of the bullet, Melvin White, had an apartment over looking the street the parade was to take place.

It was still morning, so Bruce couldn't go as the vigilante. Bruce Wayne could go out for a little 'joy ride' on his motorcycle though.

Bruce had located White's apartment and discovered a group of guards, stripped of their uniforms and guns. They were blindfolded; mouths tapped shut, and tied to a column in the room. A sniper scope was in front of a window with the blind half drawn.

When Bruce went to take a look at it, the blind suddenly lifted. The motion and sight of the sniper scope caught the attention of a cop on guard on a fire escape.

The cop fired just as the Honor Guards had, so it went mostly unnoticed.

The next thing Bruce knew, the Honor Guards were aiming at the Mayor. After that, everything had been a blur. He was out of the building and back on his motorcycle while the crowds had scattered. That's when he saw Samantha.

If the Joker was anywhere close by, Bruce knew he had to get her away.

As they sped through the streets, Samantha held on for dear life and buried her face into Bruce's leather jacket.

The motorcycle came to a halt, but Samantha didn't budge. Bruce craned his neck to look at her.

"Samantha, you can let go now."

Samantha lifted her head and took in her surroundings. They were in front of the building that had Bruce's pent house.

"Samantha?"

Bruce's voice brought her back to the fact that her arms were still tightly wrapped around his torso. She had some difficulty letting go, her muscles seemed to have locked up.

When she finally pulled away and hopped off the motorcycle, Bruce was looking at her intently. "Sorry about that, but when I saw you there and heard those gunshots-."

Samantha interrupted him. "Do you know what was happening?"

Bruce shrugged. "I was out riding and heard those guns going off. I was about to turn around but I saw you."

Something about his story didn't sound right.

"So you didn't know about the Joker's plan to kill the mayor?"

Bruce raised his eyebrows. "He what?" he asked in a confused voice. It was as if he didn't really care.

"Do you watch the news, Bruce?"

"Not really, maybe once or twice a week. It's so boring and depressing."

"Maybe you should start watching it more often. You could have been shot too, you know."

"The mayor was shot?"

"No, but Lieutenant Gordon was…he didn't make it."

A sudden change came over Bruce's face. "Gordon?" he asked as if he misheard her.

"Yeah, he jumped up to move Garcia and got the bullet instead."

Samantha watched Bruce closely. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's just…"

He wasn't about to tell her that Gordon was the Batman's only ally. He wasn't about to tell her that they were an unofficial team. But it wasn't just that he had lost an ally; he felt he had lost someone that was almost a friend.

"When my parents had been murdered, Gordon was there with me. He stayed by me until Alfred picked me up. He told me 'everything was going to be okay'…I don't know why but, out of all the cops who had told me the same phrase that night…he was the only one I believed. Because he was the only one who sounded like he truly cared. That memory of him always stayed with me."

Samantha was silent. What exactly could you say to someone after _that_?

Bruce Wayne was a puzzle. One moment he'd be the stuck up, play boy, billionaire Gotham knew him to be, the next he was ordering her to get on his bike so he could whisk her off to safety instead of turning around and saving his own butt.

It was almost like he was pretending to be something he wasn't. But why?

She never got to ask. Bruce slapped on a smile and asked her to join him in his pent house.

Well, she couldn't say no, not after what he had just shared with her.

When they walked inside, Alfred greeted them and offered to take Samantha's coat, scarf, and hat. Samantha removed the black sock hat and shook her blond hair free of any misplaced strands.

Now that everything was normal in the apartment, Samantha saw that it didn't seem as large as it had during the party. Probably because the furniture was back in place.

She cast a glance at the window the Joker had shattered and saw a new window pane had been installed.

Bruce stood still with his hands shoved inside his pockets as he watched her taking it all in.

Now was a great time to study her and find out what had caught the Joker's attention and why he let her live. He would try asking her questions that Batman would ask, but with Bruce Wayne's style. It had to be timed just right.

"What do you think?" he asked her.

Samantha turned to face him. "It's still huge. I think I could fit my whole apartment in this room alone at least four times," she laughed.

Bruce chuckled along with her. Alfred reappeared after taking care of Samantha's things.

"Alfred, could you make some lunch for me and Miss Samantha?"

"Of course, Master Wayne."

"Oh no, I really couldn't. I should be going back-," Samantha protested.

"Nah, come on. I need someone to talk to besides Alfred. No offense, Alfred."

"None taken, sir," the butler replied good naturedly.

Bruce looked back at Samantha. "Please?" Bruce begged, pouting his lips.

"I guess I could stay for lunch."

She ended up staying late into the afternoon talking with Bruce.

At first they joked around with each other and Bruce discovered Samantha's sense of humor. She had perfect timing for what to say and when to say it. He would find himself nearly in tears from laughing uncontrollably at a funny remark she said.

When he felt she was relaxed enough, he steered the conversation to her kidnapping.

Bruce noticed something about the way she told her story. Every time she would repeat what was spoken between her and the Joker, she would pause. The pausing caught his attention. It was as if she was replaying the entire conversation in her head and choosing what to say out loud. Something had been said between the two of them that Samantha was covering up. But what was it?

Bruce glanced over Samantha's shoulder outside the window to see the sky had grown dark and that the Bat Signal was on. It took him a moment to remember that Gordon was dead and that he couldn't be the one who had switched it on.

"Bruce?"

He turned his head back to Samantha. Whatever she said had gone unheard by him.

"Uh, sorry. I just remembered an important meeting I have to go to in a few minutes," he said and stood from the sofa. "You won't be upset that I can't walk you out? I have to get ready really fast."

Samantha opened her mouth to speak but Bruce cut her off.

"Thanks, we'll talk again some other time." He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek before hurrying off to his room.

Once inside, he went straight to the wall on his right and pressed his thumb against a certain spot. A panel of the wall opened up and he quickly ducked inside.

…

"What just happened?" Samantha asked herself out loud.

"What was that, Miss?"

Samantha saw Alfred appear from the kitchen. He scanned the area and looked at her with no change in his expression. "Where's Master Wayne?" he asked.

Samantha smiled and gave a half-hearted shrug. "He said he had an important meeting to go to and left," she explained.

Alfred glanced out the window and saw the Bat Signal. "I see." He smiled at her apologetically.

"Well then, I suppose I could walk you out?"

"That'll be fine."

"I'll get your things."

When he returned and Samantha had her jacket, scarf, and hat back on, Alfred led her to the elevator.

Just as Alfred was about to press the button, there was a ding and the doors opened up to reveal Rachel Dawes.

"Miss Dawes?" Alfred stepped aside to let her in.

"Is Bruce here?" she asked nervously.

"He left for a meeting," Samantha told her.

Rachel ran her eyes over Samantha and recognized her from the news. She turned her attention back to Alfred, but questions about why Samantha was there buzzed in the back of her brain.

"I need to stay here. Harvey called and said the Joker named me as his next target. He told me to stay with someone I could trust."

Alfred's eyes suddenly looked worried and now he seemed more like a grandfather instead of a butler.

"Of course, Miss Dawes. I'll see that the guest room is ready for you tonight."

Samantha began to feel uncomfortable and wanted to leave, but felt it would seem rude if she left at that moment. She caught Rachel staring at her again. She extended her hand out to Rachel.

"Samantha Reads."

"Rachel Dawes." Rachel grasped her hand, eyes never straying from Samantha's face. "I heard what you did at the party, about luring the Joker away."

"Word travels fast."

"Are you and Bruce dating?" Rachel asked suddenly.

"Uh, no; we're just friends."

"Funny, he's never mentioned you before."

"We were never close. He heard about my kidnapping and wanted to get to know me a little."

At the mention of her kidnapping the hostility lessened in Rachel's blue eyes. "Oh," she said.

An awkward silence followed.

"Miss Reads was just leaving," Alfred explained, breaking the tension.

"_God bless you, Alfred,"_ Samantha thought.

Alfred opened the elevator doors for her and Samantha gratefully stepped inside.

"It was nice meeting you, Miss Dawes," Samantha said over her shoulder.

The doors closed and she sighed in relief.

Hostility had practically been radiating off of Rachel the moment she saw Samantha. What had she done to her? Was she jealous about her and Bruce? Ha! Wasn't she dating Harvey?

The elevator slowly began to descend to the ground floor and Samantha thought about what Rachel had said.

Now Rachel was a target? Why? She was only an assistant to the district attorney. Did the Joker want to kill her because of his last failed attempt?

Wait… Assistant to the_ district attorney_. Harvey Dent. Those two men with the last names that made 'Harvey Dent', then at the party he was looking for Dent…

Why was the Joker attacking Dent so much when he seemed to be obsessed with the Batman? Unless…

Did the Joker think Harvey Dent was the Batman?

**(So there it is! Tell me what you think! I went through a lot of distractions to put this up. *looks at Joker with a glare* I hope you're happy... *Joker grins* Anyways, let's bring in those reviews! I love them just as much as hot chocolate!)**


	9. Chapter 9

**(Sooooooo, My Purple Skies hasn't posted in a while and I can tell you're all getting anxious, especially RENZEI27. She happens to be out of the room for the moment and has left her laptop unprotected-ah. I decided it was my turn to have a go at introd_ucing_ a chapter in her book. So without further ado, presenting-!  
(I walk in and Joker looks up like a deer caught in the headlights. Joker grins.) "Sweeetheeeaart! How are you?"  
"What are you doing?"  
(Joker quickly finishes typing.) Without further ado, here's the next chapter. (Presses 'update' and runs out of the room.)  
"JOKER!"**

Chapter Nine

The sound of her phone ringing mercilessly beside her head made Samantha groan as she moved beneath the bed sheets. Her hand fumbled limply for the phone on her nightstand and felt its familiar surface. She picked it up, nearly dropping it, and propped it next to her ear.

"Hello?" she mumbled sleepily.

"Are you watching the news?" Harleen's voice asked.

"No."

She had been in the middle of a nice catnap before she had to get to work at the hospital that night. Someone had asked for the day off and Samantha was the one they picked to cover for the night shift schedule that person had.

"Well you should be! Batman's turning himself in!" Harleen squeaked.

Samantha was still recovering from the effects of being woken from a deep sleep. "Do what?" she asked.

"You heard me!"

No, actually, she hadn't. Harleen's words were still jumbled together. She was able to make out 'turn on the TV to GCN,' before Harley clicked off.

Samantha groggily got out of bed and rubbed her eyes. She shuffled to the living room, her bare feet lightly thumping on the wood floors.

Samantha plopped onto the sofa and switched on the TV. Only when the bold letters on the screen came on did she understand what Harleen had been telling her.

Mike Engle was saying how Harvey Dent had called together a press conference and that it was suspected to be about Batman turning himself in.

"We're going live to the conference, where GCN's camera crew have set up their equipment to broadcast this moment to you," he informed the viewers.

Samantha rolled her eyes. Sometimes that guy seemed so fake.

The image changed to the inside of a building with big glass walls which looked out to the city. A stage and podium had been set up and a crowd of reporters, cops, and various other people were seated facing it.

Samantha briefly caught a glimpse of Bruce Wayne as he walked in the path of a camera. What was he doing there? She didn't have time to think much about it before an announcer stepped up and said, "District Attorney, Harvey Dent."

…..

The crowd settled down as Harvey, looking neat and handsome as always, crossed the stage and nodded at the announcer. He stood behind the podium and looked out at the people's faces.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming. I've called this press conference for two reasons. Firstly, to assure the citizens of Gotham that everything that can be done over the Joker killings is being done."

Scoffs and murmurs of doubt trickled through the crowd of people.

Harvey raised his voice to be heard. "Secondly, because the Batman has offered to turn himself in. But first let's consider the situation. Should we give in to this terrorist's demands? Do we really think that he's gonna-?"

A woman right behind Bruce spoke up with disdain in her voice. "You'd rather protect an outlaw vigilante than the lives of citizens?"

Voices rose in agreement as cameras continued to flash.

"The Batman is an outlaw," Harvey agreed.

Silence settled once again.

"That's not why we're demanding he turn himself in, we're doing it because we're scared. We've been happy to let Batman clean up our streets for us til now."

A man in the crowd voiced his disagreement. "Thing's are worse than ever!"

"Amen," someone chorused.

Harvey slightly nodded. "Yes, they are…But the night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you…the dawn is coming. One day, the Batman will have to answer for the laws he's broken. But to us…not to this madman."

"No more dead cops!" an officer in the back shouted. His fellow officers joined in with him. Several people began to clap.

Harvey felt his heart grow heavy. He was loosing.

"He should turn himself in!"

"Give us the Batman! Come on!"

"Where is he?"

Bruce watched the district attorney from his spot at the side wall. He felt bad for Dent. Last night as Batman he had told Dent to call this meeting so he could turn himself in. Dent wouldn't have it. He nearly tore him apart, telling him that he couldn't give in. But this was the only way.

Harvey stared at the crowd for a moment, determining his next move. He looked away, mind made up.

"So be it. Take the Batman into custody," he said, stepping away from the podium.

The crowd whispered in confusion.

"What?"

"Is he here?"

Bruce took a deep breath and moved to step out.

Harvey gazed out at the crowd. "I am the Batman," he announced calmly.

Bruce froze as the room around him exploded with voices of shock. Two cops made their way to the stage and slapped a pair of handcuffs in Dent's wrists.

…

Samantha sat there on the sofa, arms crossed, brow furrowed, as she stared at the TV. It didn't make any sense. Why would Dent do that? He couldn't be the Batman. He was locked in a storage closet when Batman was fighting the Joker's goons at Bruce's party. Why was Dent lying? Didn't he know the Joker would go after him?

Samantha paused when a thought occurred to her. That's exactly what he wanted…Dent wanted the Joker to come for him so he could lure him in. The real Batman was going to trap the Joker when he went for the decoy.

"Dent…you better know what you're doing."

….

Rachel stormed out of the room, away from the TV, and searched for Alfred. She found him by the dining table and called out to him.

"Alfred."

Rachel adjusted her shoulder bag and waited to speak when she was closer to him.

"Why is he letting Harvey do this?"

"He went down to the press conference."

"I know. And he just stood by."

"Perhaps both Bruce and Mr. Dent believe that Batman stands for something more important than the whims of a terrorist, Miss Dawes, even if everyone hates him for it. That's the sacrifice he's making. He's not being a hero. He's being something more."

Rachel nodded, anger evident on her face. "Yeah, you're absolutely right. Letting Harvey take the fall for this is not heroic at all," she replied in an icy tone. Alfred looked hurt by her words. Rachel's face softened. "You know him better than anyone," she said.

"I do," Alfred answered quietly.

Rachel took an envelope with 'Bruce' written on the front, out of her bag and handed it to Alfred.

"Will you give this to him for me? When the time is right?"

"How will I know?" he asked.

"It's not sealed."

Rachel embraced him and squeezed tight. "Good bye, Alfred." She let go and gazed at the man she had known since childhood.

"Bye, Rachel," Alfred said with some difficulty.

….

The Joker leapt from his chair and lifted his arms in the air.

"I knew it!"

He laughed and clapped his hands together before spinning around to face the TV and pointed at Harvey as he was shown being escorted out of the building.

"Oh Harvey, Harvey, Harvey Den_**t-ah**_! Just you wait! There's more to come!" he cackled. The Joker grabbed Red by the back of the neck and hoisted him to his feet.

"You and I need to figure out which route they're going to take when they deliver Dent to Central Holding."

Red looked at him puzzled. "Won't they keep him at the MCU?"

The Joker's grip tightened painfully around Red's neck. "Noooooo, they'll want to get him out of there as soon as possible, tonight; half of Gotham is against Batman and will probably try to kill him. The cops will be hurrying to ship him out. Now, let's do a little snooping, hm?"

…..

Later that night at the MCU, Dent was being escorted to a SWAT van to go to Central Holding. A man was giving instructions to the drivers of the SWAT van carrying Dent, the decoy SWAT van carrying SWAT members, and the squad cars.

"We get this guy to County, he's their problem. The streets will be cleared along your route. So let's go. The convoys stop for no reason."

SWAT member, Pete, hopped into the van holding Harvey Dent and looked at the driver. "I hope you got some moves, pal," he said.

The driver said nothing but looked away and stared ahead. It kinda made him look creepy, considering the fact that his entire face was covered up by his SWAT uniform mask. Pete ignored the flesh bumps that popped over his skin and shook it off. They had a job to do.

…

Harleen waited for the man in front of her to finish looking over her credentials. He hadn't spoken a word for five minutes and she was getting anxious. What if he refused her the internship?

He let out a sigh and looked up at her. "Well, Miss Quinzel, I must say you have a very impressive report. But I am curious as to why you'd want an internship at an asylum for the criminally insane?"

"My interest in the subject has always been there. It's just recently that my interest has increased and I want to learn more," she told him, thinking back to the Joker's GCN tape.

The man was quite a few more seconds and finally seemed to come to a decision. "Well, I hope you find what you're looking for in Arkham. Let's have you start here a week from now."

Harleen beamed and rose from her chair at the same time he did. "Thank you Doctor Arkham! I won't let you down."

She left the building and hailed a taxi. All the while she had a big, stupid grin on her face. She took out her cell phone when she sat in the back of the vehicle and dialed Samantha's number.

"Hello?"

"Hi-ya, Sammy!"

"Hey, Harley."

"I just called to tell you I got that internship at-."

"Harley, that's great! And I'd really like to talk, really I do; but I have to be at the hospital to cover for someone in thirty minutes. I imagine the traffic will be backed up since Dent's being transported."

"Darn, I was hoping you, me, and Alice could go somewhere tonight."

"You and Alice can go out, but make sure it's a romantic restaurant, not fast food, you cheapskate," Samantha teased.

Harleen giggled. "Nah, I think I'll just head home and we can try again some other time."

"Alright, take care."

"You too."

….

Dave and his partner were keeping watch at one of the road blocks when a semi truck pulled up to one of the fences and blared his horn loudly. He kept doing it until Dave got fed up and put down his cup of joe.

"Man, I've had enough of this," he grumbled and opened the door of their patrol car. His partner's hand grasped him by the arm.

"Dave, wait…" He looked uneasily at the semi. On the side was pictured a circus like background and in big letters said, 'Laughter is the Best Medicine.' But someone had spray painted a red S in front of the word 'Laughter', now making it read 'Slaughter is the Best Medicine.'

"I don't like this," he said. Dave went on anyway.

He walked to the driver's window to see an older man with a cowboy hat on. The driver turned his head to look at Dave.

"Hey you wait like everybody else, pal," Dave told him.

The Joker popped up, leaned across the driver, aimed his shotgun, and pulled the trigger without any hesitation. Dave's head whipped back from the impact of the shot and he fell to the pavement.

His partner swore and got out of the car. He jogged over to the semi and pushed back his hat as he glanced down at Dave's bleeding body. He looked up at the Joker. "Jeez man, you didn't have to shoot him!" he cried.

The Joker sat back in his seat and blew invisible smoke away from the gun barrel. "Nope, I didn't have to, but you could have stopped him like you were suppose to, couldn't you?" the Joker asked.

Something in the Joker's voice made him feel even worse.

"Killing him wasn't part of the plan."

"I'm not exactly the planning type. Now get those road blocks out of the way."

The officer gave one last look at Dave before hurrying to pull the fences out of the semi's way.

…..

If Harleen had known about the street chase that had happened between the Joker and Batman, who had lost his tank like vehicle due to a bazooka gun fired by the Joker, she never would have gone down the road she was on. Oh no. She would have told the cab driver to take the long way and would gladly have paid the cab fee. But she had no way of knowing and found herself caught up towards its ending.

She heard what sounded like rapid gunfire. The car in front of them swerved onto the curb and crashed into a pole.

"What the-?" her cabbie exclaimed.

The removal of the car had revealed a figure further down the street, walking away from an overturned semi truck.

Harleen saw the figure was dressed in purple before she noticed the machine gun in his hands.

"Duck!" she screamed.

The cabbie didn't move in time. The Joker lifted the gun and fired at their car without even looking in their direction.

Bullets pierced through the windshield and buried themselves in the cabby's body. The taxi veered to the right and rammed into a parked car. The jolt sent Harleen forward, slamming her into the driver's seat. She fumbled for the door handle and shoved it open.

Harley stepped out of the vehicle and kept her head down as she crawled away and headed for cover behind the car the taxi had impaled. Her heart hammered inside her chest as Harleen peeked over the roof of the car and spotted the Joker.

"Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on. Come ooon. I want 'cha ta do it, I want 'cha ta do it, come on!"

He fired another stream of bullets at an on coming car, causing it to wreck. Finally the street was clear and he stood in the center, staring straight ahead with a look on his face that bode anyone in his way no good. He stood with his legs spread, feet planted, shoulders hunched, and fists clenched. He wasn't going to move.

"_He looks so powerful…."_

"I want ya ta do it," he muttered.

"_What is he talking about?"_ Harleen wondered.

She became aware of a noise that sounded like an engine. She leaned further out and saw a black shape heading at a fast pace towards the Joker. It was some sort of a motorcycle, and judging by the black cape billowing behind him, she'd say Batman was the driver.

"Come on. Cooome oon, cooome oon, I want 'cha ta do it, I want 'cha ta do it. Come on, hit me." His voice rose in volume with each time he repeated his words. "C'mon, hit me! C'mon Hit Me!" he roared in that demonic voice.

Harleen heard a yell coming from the Batman. He didn't seem like he was going to stop and the Joker was certainly not going to move! Batman was less than ten feet away now.

"**HIT ME!"**

"No!" Harleen shouted. Her voice didn't carry over the roar of Batman's motorcycle.

At the last moment, Batman steered the bike to the left, avoiding the Joker. He didn't have time to slow down. The motorcycle crashed into a semi truck, throwing the vigilante off his bike.

Harleen ducked behind the car and turned her back to rest against it. She heaved a sigh of relief and realized her heart was beating wildly. She couldn't understand why? Why did she not want the Joker to get hurt?

Harleen eased her head around the edge of the car to see the Joker slowly strolling towards the fallen Batman. He was twirling a knife in his hand and _skipping_!

"Da- dum, da-dum, da- dum," he hummed.

Harleen never took her eyes off of him. He was so fascinating to watch! She didn't even realize he had left his gun behind.

One thug with a clown mask rolled the Batman onto his back and reached out to remove the black mask. A sudden jolt of electricity shot through his hand. He yelped in pain and withdrew his hand too fast. He lost his balance and fell to his side.

The Joker laughed wildly and leaped into the air with a kick at the thug. He landed barely an inch away from him but successfully made it over Batman. The Joker kicked the thug a few times while he gibbered and made other strange noises. He did it for a few more seconds and finally spat on him. He turned to Batman and kneeled down with his drawn and close to Batman's throat.

"C'mon," he muttered under his breath.

A cold gun barrel was pressed against the back of his neck. The Joker gave a frustrated growl and turned his head slightly.

"Gnnnaaaahh! Could you _please_ just give me a minute?" he whined.

His captor shoved him off the vigilante and onto his back. The Joker looked up at the face of a man he thought he had killed and lifted his eyebrows.

"We gotcha," Jim Gordon said, breathlessly.

The Joker took one look at the gun pointed at his face and let his knife clatter to the pavement. Gordon couldn't tell if it was the scars or if there really was a smile on his lips.

…..

Batman had mysteriously disappeared shortly after more police showed up. As the Joker was unceremoniously dragged to a squad car in handcuffs, Harvey Dent was helped out of the battered SWAT van by Gordon. At first he couldn't believe his eyes when Gordon opened the van's door.

"Gor-…" Dent smiled and nodded. "You do like to play things pretty close to the chest," he said with a tired yet still joking voice.

Gordon smiled back. "We got him, Harvey."

Immediately after climbing down from the van he was surrounded by reporters. Harvey was momentarily blinded by the flashes of their cameras.

"Mr. Dent! How does it feel to be the biggest hero in Gotham?"

"No, I'm no hero. Gotham's finest, they're the heroes."

"But you and your office have been working with the Batman all along?"

"No, but I trusted him to do the right thing."

"Which was?"

"Saving my a-."

Anna Ramirez intervened and led Harvey to an awaiting squad car that was being driven by Detective Wuertz. "Alright, people, that's enough. Let him be. Let him be."

"Thank you, detective," Harvey told her as she opened the door for him. "I've got a date with a pretty upset girlfriend."

Ramirez chuckled. "I figured, counselor."

She shut the door behind him and the car drove off. Harvey never saw the look of guilt that was on Ramirez's face as she watched him go.

…

Harleen had moved from her hiding spot and watched the squad car carrying the Joker pull away from the wreckage. She went to the taxi and grabbed her purse out of the passenger's seat. Harleen dug her cell phone up from the contents and dialed Samantha's number as fast as her fingers could go.

….

Samantha felt her cell phone vibrate and slowed in her walking to answer it. She was already in the hospital and had been on the way to make her rounds.

"Hello?"

"Sammy! I was on my way home and there was this semi truck and it was upside down and lots of bullets and we crashed and Batman and his motorcycle and-!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down. What?"

"The Joker was arrested!"

Samantha froze in her tracks and stared straight ahead.

"Sammy, are you there?" Harleen asked when her friend didn't reply.

Samantha swallowed and spoke into the phone. "Are you sure?"

"Sammy, how many men wear clown make-up and a purple suit?"

"Alright, Miss Sarcasm."

"Hey, look who's talking."

"Thanks for telling me about the Joker, Harleen."

"No problem."

Samantha closed her phone and went to the nurses' locker room. She clutched the medical files close to her chest and put her back against her locker. A big grin spread across her face.

"YES! Ha ha ha ha!" Samantha cheered and slide down to the floor. "Take that, Allan!"

Samantha paused when the name escaped her lips.

_He's not Allan anymore. He never was. _

Samantha's beeper went off and she groaned. She picked herself and the files from off the floor and dusted off any dirt from her uniform. Samantha couldn't help but grin again as she walked out of the locker room.

_The Joker is arrested. He can't hurt anyone anymore. _

….

At the MCU, the Joker sat calmly in his cell as the other inmates around him were loud and riotous. He watched as the knives were emptied out of his coat's pockets one at a time by an inspector. He mentally counted them as they were set down on the table outside of his holding cell, far beyond reach.

"_One…two…three…four…five…six… seven…pocket watch…" _He chewed on the inside of his cheek. _"Be careful with those knives…they have a mind of their own." _

The Joker clasped his bare hands together and rapidly bounced the weight of his legs up and down by the toes of his feet. Most people looked at it as a sign of nervousness.

"_Ha…"_

But noooo…he was just a bundle of energy and he was having a hard time keeping still.

He rubbed his hands together, feeling the skin he normally kept covered with gloves. The Joker had surprised the police when he cooperated with them to get his fingerprints. He had nothing to worry about.

A loud ruckus sounded from behind him and he rolled his brown eyes. Some of his thugs had been captured and jailed with him and now they were trying to prove to their boss how tough they were. Pathetic…

"Stand away! All of you!"

The Joker looked up to see Jim Gordon; followed by Detective Ramirez and Stephens.

"I don't want anything for his Mob lawyer to use, you understand?"

The men in charge of watching nodded reluctantly. The Joker could tell they'd rather be kicking some of the thugs around or smashing his own brains to mush. Did Gordon really think he had a lawyer?

"_Hello, what have we here?"_

Mayor Garcia walked in, a look of disbelief on his face as he stared at Gordon.

"Back from the dead?" he asked half jokingly. They shook hands.

"I, uh…couldn't risk my family's safety," Gordon explained.

They both turned to face the Joker, who had suddenly become very interested in something on the ceiling.

"What do we got?" the mayor asked.

Gordon shook his head and put his hands on his hips. "Nothing. No matches on prints, DNA, dental. Clothing is custom, no labels. Nothing in his pockets but knives and lint. No name. No other alias."

"Go home, Gordon. The clown'll keep till morning. Go get some rest. You're gonna need it. Tomorrow you take the big job." Garcia and Gordon met each other's eyes. Garcia was smiling. "You don't have any say in the matter. Commissioner Gordon."

Gordon was speechless. It barely registered that people were clapping or Garcia was shaking his hand. Commissioner?

He turned to Stephens and Ramirez, shaking their hands. The clapping slowly died down until one lone clapper was heard.

Gordon glanced back to see it was the Joker. He had his arms fully extended in front of him and was slapping his hands together very loudly. There was absolutely no joy on his face. Something in his eyes chilled Gordon to the bone. He took Garcia's advice and went home.

…..

It wasn't long after Gordon left that another one of the Joker's thugs was shoved into the same cell with him. He barley moved his head to see who it was.

"_Ahhh, it's…oh what's his name? Oh well, it's not gonna matter soon…" _

The thug reached out to touch the bars with one hand and clung to his big belly with the other.

"I don't feel good," he moaned. He didn't look good either. His face was blotted red and he was sweating profusely.

"You're a cop killer. You're lucky to be feeling anything below the neck," a detective named Murphy spat hatefully.

The thug threw himself towards Murphy. "Please!" he begged.

"Step away from the bars!" a cop ordered.

"My insides hurt," the thug whimpered. He began to pant heavily.

No one noticed the Joker's smirk. Even if they had, it was gone in an instant, which left you wondering if you had even seen it in the first place. He knew what was going on…

"_But I'm not telling…"_

…

Gordon hadn't even been home for two hours when his cell phone rang. Now he was storming back into the MCU because of that phone call's message.

He found Ramirez, Murphy, and Stephens with a few others in the Observation room. Gordon peered through the glass windows to see the faint outline of the Joker in the Interrogation room.

"Has he said anything yet?" he asked. Ramirez shook her head. Gordon wasted no more time in heading for the next room.

He opened the heavy metal door and stepped inside. The room was one lamp and an emergency light away from being in complete darkness. Up ahead, the lamplight faintly illuminated the Joker's face, making him look like a ghostly specter.

"Evening, commissioneeeer," he drawled.

Gordon made his way to the center of the room and sat in a chair opposite of the Joker. He swept off any dust particles from the surface of the small table between them.

He sighed, linked his hands together, and looked up at the Joker's make-up smeared face.

"Harvey Dent never made it home." He told him.

"Of course not," the Joker replied simply.

"What have you done with him?"

The Joker feigned a look of shock and disbelief. "_Me_? I was right here." He lifted his manacled hands to display this fact. He lowered his hands only to immediately lift them again and point at Gordon. "Who did you leave him with? Hm? _Your_ people?" He licked his bottom lip and eyed Gordon like he was suspicious of the man. "Assuming of course that they are _still your_ people," he touched the right corner of his mouth with his tongue, "and not _Maroni's_."

Gordon remained silent and continued to stare at him. The Joker tilted his head to the side and pretended to be serious. "Does it depress you, commissioner…to know…just how _alone_ you really are?... Does it make you feel responsible for Harvey Dent's current predicament-ah?"

"Where is he?"

The Joker was a bit annoyed at being cut off but pushed it aside. "What's the time?" he asked.

"What difference does that make?" Gordon asked tiredly. The people on the other side of the glass had to give him credit. Not once had he raised his voice.

"Weeell, depending on the _time_, he may be in one spot or several," he explained and wet his lips while spreading his hands out to emphasize his words.

Gordon dug out a key from his pocket and fiddled with it for a few seconds, never taking his eyes off the Joker. "If we're gonna play games," Gordon said as he unlocked the Joker's handcuffs.

"Mm-hm?" the Joker muttered.

"I'm gonna need a cup of coffee." Gordon rose from his seat and headed for the door.

"Aaah, the 'good cop, bad cop' routine?" The Joker clicked his mouth in amusement.

Gordon looked back at him. "Not exactly," he answered, mysteriously, and left the room.

The Joker sat back in his chair, curious as to what Gordon had meant by that remark.

He blinked when the lights suddenly flicked on. A split second later, a hand clamped onto the back of his head and drove it down hard onto the table with a loud BANG! The hand released his head, freeing him.

The Joker sat up, groaning, and lifted the back of his hand to his forehead. The Batman walked into his line of vision.

The Joker gave him a look that asked, "Was that really necessary?"

"Never start with the head, the victim gets all fuzzy; he can't feel the next-."

Batman nailed his elbow sharply onto the Joker's hand. He closed his eyes and peeked out when he felt no pain.

"See?" he asked childishly.

Batman took the chair Gordon had last been occupying and glared across the table at the clown. "You wanted me. Here I am," he stated coldly.

"I wanted to see what you'd do…" he leaned in towards Batman, "And you didn't disappoint. You let five people die…and _then_ you let Dent take your place. Even to a guy like me, that's cold."

"Where's Dent?"

"Those mob fools want you gone so they can get back to _the way things were_." He slightly sing-songed the last words and fluttered his fingers in the air. He paused as he looked at Batman. The Joker shifted around in his seat and leaned forward on his arms on the table. "But I know the truth. There's no going back. You've changed things. Forever."

"Then why do you want to kill me?"

The question positively tickled the Joker. He laughed and bounced in his chair. He forced himself to speak between laughs.

"I don't, I don't want to kill you! What would I do without you? Go back to ripping off mob dealers? No, no, no! No, _you, you complete me_," he said earnestly as he pointed to himself.

"You're garbage who kills for money," Batman growled.

"Don't talk like one of them, you're not! Even if you'd like to be…To them, you're just a _freak-ah_. Like me. They need you right now, but when they don't…," he cocked his head to the side and lifted his eyebrows, "they'll cast you out. Like a leper. You see, their morals, their cooode…," his tongue darted across his lips, "it's all a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble." Again he wet his lips. It was beginning to get on Batman's nerves.

The Joker looked at him with narrowed eyes. "They're only as good as the world allows them to be. They'll show ya, when the chips are down, these, uh, these _civilized_ people…they'll eat each other. See, I'm not a monster," he leaned back and bent forward again. "I'm just ahead of the curb."

Batman's hands shot out like lightning and grabbed him by his green vest. He hoisted the thin man over the table like he was weightless. The Joker didn't seem fazed at all.

"Where's Dent?" Batman demanded.

"You have all these rules and you think they'll save you," the Joker teased.

Batman turned and threw him against the wall, causing the detectives and new commissioner to fidget with worry. "He's in control," Gordon said, assuring. It was more to himself than to the officers.

Batman's spiked gauntlet was pressed against the Joker's throat while his hand was closed tightly around a fist full of the clown's shirt.

"I have only one rule," Batman rumbled.

"Oh! Then that's the rule you'll have to break to know the truth."

"Which is?"

"The only sensible way to live in this world is without rules, and tonight you're gonna **break your one rule**."

"I'm considering it."

"Well there's only eight minutes left, so you're gonna have to play my little game if you want to save one of them…" the Joker sneered childishly.

"…Them?" Batman repeated.

"You know, for awhile there," he grunted as he moved his neck to speak around the gauntlet's spikes poking his skin, "I thought you really were Dent, the way you threw yourself after her. Ha-!"

Batman shifted his hold and flipped the Joker onto his back hard against the surface of the table.

"Oh ha ha ha ha!"

Batman grabbed a chair and dragged it to the door.

"Look at you go!" The Joker wheezed as he eased himself up from the table.

Batman jammed the chair under the door handle. Gordon had raced to get to it in time but was too late. He just prayed Batman didn't rip the Joker apart.

The Joker groaned as he stretched and heard his back pop. "Does Harvey know about you and his little bunny?"

Batman grabbed him by the hair and slammed his head into the window. Web-like cracks appeared after the impact and a few shards of glass fell to the floor along with the Joker.

"Where are they?" Batman shouted.

"Killing is making a choice-."

A black fist drove into the side of his face. He hit the floor and pushed himself back up to a sitting position.

"Where are they?" Batman roared.

"Choose between one life or the other. Your friend the district attorney or his blushing bride to be!"

He started to laugh again when a blow was delivered to his head which nearly flipped him onto his stomach. He laughed anyway and didn't want to stop.

The Joker lifted himself up on his elbow. "You have **nothing**!" he shouted as he used a corner to boost himself up to face Batman. "Nothing to threaten me with. Nothing to do with all your strength."

He was jerked up by his vest again with Batman hovering over him. "Don't worry, I'm gonna tell you where they are, both of them. And that's the point. You have to choose."

He looked up at the ceiling as he recalled the addresses. "He's at 250 52nd Street and she's on Avenue X at Cicero."

Batman released him and stormed out of the room with the Joker's maniacal laughter following behind.

Gordon rushed to meet him. "Who are you going after?" he asked.

"Rachel!" Batman snapped.

…

The Joker spent a good ten minutes rolling on the floor, laughing. He sat up, groaning yet loving the pain all at once. He used the wall underneath the cracked glass as his backrest and giggled.

The sound of a door opening didn't escape his notice; he just chose not to look up at the moment to see who had been sent in to supervise him. He sat there, twiddling his thumbs and humming a tune he remembered from long ago. He didn't feel like making up his own melody right now.

Detective Stephens had been sent inside and was watching him with a cocked eyebrow. He recognized the song.

_Why would a guy like the Joker be humming to the song 'Sway'?_

The Joker's eyes moved around the room as he continued to hum and ignore Stephens. His gaze swept over the broken glass and moved on to something else.

'_You_ _complete me'…ha!_ Maybe he should use that on Samantha.

That put a halt to any other thoughts in his brain. A brief image of Allan Jordan and Samantha Reads dancing crossed his mind and was gone as soon as it came. He immediately stopped humming and began to speak to Stephens.

"I want my phone call. I want it, I want it, I want my phone call."

"That's nice," Stephens said, sarcastically.

The Joker looked down. _"So that's how it's gonna be?"_

He decided on a different tactic.

"How many of your friends have I killed?" he asked.

He looked at Stephens out of the corner of his eye. He could tell he had struck a nerve.

Stephens looked directly at him, trying to keep his voice steady. "I'm a twenty year man and I know the difference between punks who need a little lesson in manners and the freaks like you who would just enjoy it. And you killed six of my friends."

The Joker mouthed the number 'six' like he was surprised.

…

"Please, my insides hurt," the thug begged.

He was holding himself up by clinging to the bars of his cell. His breathing was ragged and the sweating had increased.

"I don't really care; back off!" the cop said.

"The Boss said he'd make the voices go away. He said he'd go inside and replace them with bright lights, hee, hee, hee, like Christmas!"

"You're out of your mind, pal. Back off!"

The thug suddenly began to gag and collapsed onto his back. The cop spoke into his shoulder walkie-talkie and moved for the door.

"Come on, get the door open."

When the thug started to convulse, he began to worry. He stepped inside and pointed at the other prisoners who were slowly moving towards the sick thug.

"You guys back off!"

They stepped back.

…

The Joker studied the detective's face and knew that if he wanted to keep pressing his buttons, he needed to stay on the subject of Stephens' friends. He smirked.

"Do you wanna know," he licked his lips, "why I use a knife?"

Stephens made no reply but that suited him just fine.

"Guns are too quick. You can't savor all the… little…," he motioned with his hands and squinted his eyes as he tried to search for a word, "_emotions_."

He gave Stephens a side long glance. "You see, in their…_last_ moments…people show you who they really are. So, in a way…I knew your friends better than you ever did." The Joker paused, licked his lips, and decided to deliver the final blow. "Would you like to know which of them were cowards?"

Stephens exhaled and removed his jacket. He took a few steps towards the Joker.

…

The paramedics had come and were now rolling up the thug's shirt to reveal hideous cuts that had recently been sown up. They were deep and had obviously cut him open. A large bump was visible in the man's skin.

"What is that?"

"Geez…" they whispered in disgust.

"He's got some kind of a," the paramedic paused to swallow; bile rising in his throat. "… contusion."

…

"I know you're going to enjoy this," Stephens said as he rolled up his sleeves.

The Joker popped his neck loudly to his left in one quick motion.

"But I'm gonna have to try an' enjoy it even more," Stephens told him.

Stephens grabbed him by the shirt. "This shirt wasn't cheap, you know," the Joker muttered.

Stephens scoffed. "Like I give a-."

The Joker's hand closed around his wrist and twisted Stephens' arm behind his back. The Joker was on his feet in a split second with a sharp knife sized shard of glass pressed against Stephens' throat. A chuckle escaped his lips asked as he nicked the detective's skin. A thin line of blood trickled down his neck.

"Come on, big boy, you're leading me out of here."

Stephens struggled the entire time, causing a few more cuts to appear on his throat.

They made it to the front room where the officers were and pandemonium broke out. Guns were drawn and aimed at the Joker.

"Put the weapon down!" Murphy ordered. "It was my own fault, just shoot him!" Stephens shouted.

Murphy was trying to say something but the Joker couldn't really catch what it was over the noise.

"What? I'm sorry?" he taunted.

"What do you want?" Murphy asked loudly.

The Joker grew still and looked very child like in his expression. "I just want my phone call," he said simply.

Murphy looked at him in disbelief at such a simple request. When he didn't respond immediately, the Joker pressed the sharp edge of the glass closer to Stephens' neck, making him wince and inhale loudly. Murphy slowly lowered his gun.

"Alright," he agreed. He dug out his own cell phone.

The Joker stretched out his left arm over Stephens' shoulder while keeping the knife in his right hand and against Stephens.

The cell phone was tossed and he caught it. He immediately flipped it open and began dialing with his thumb.

Stephens felt the blade make another cut and he made a noise.

"Oh sh sh sh sh," the Joker told him without looking. He put the phone next to his ear and listened to the sound of it ringing.

….

In the holding ward, the paramedics flinched when the bulge under the thug's skin lit up and started ringing.

"Is that a…phone?" the cop asked.

The sudden explosion that followed took them all by surprise.

…

He was the only one left standing in the room. Everyone was either knocked off their feet, unconscious, or dead. He looked around for a few seconds and then strolled over to the jail cells. He was a man on a mission; searching for a certain somebody. He found Lau cowering in the corner of his cell, shivering with fear.

The Joker saw a cop slumped over his chair. A ring of keys hung from his belt. The Joker fingered the keys and jerked on them hard. The string tied to the belt and ring tore and he smirked. Lau cringed even further into his corner as the Joker strolled over to him, shaking the keys.

"Hello there," he greeted in a low voice.

**(Okay, so this was mostly from the movie but, I was having a really hard time thinking of how to put Samantha in this area of the movie. It sucks, I know but, hey, I updated! So let me know what you think of the few snippets of what I wrote that is not in the movie. I still would like to know if anyone has any good songs in mind for me to listen to. Till I update again, au voir! …. That's the fancy French way of saying 'good-bye'….. ain't I smart?)**


	10. Chapter 10

**(*Wipes tear from eye* "You like me! You really like me!"  
Joker: "They like the story, sweetheart, they might hate you."  
"Shut up and let me enjoy this moment!"  
*Joker is silent for ten seconds, looks at pocket watch and back at me.* "Moment's over! Get back to work!"  
"What are you, a slave driver?"  
"Not a bad idea….")**

Chapter Ten

"Reads, get over here!" Dr. Loan yelled.

He and a few other medics were running and pushing a gurney down the hall. Samantha Reads saw a badly burned man lying on it as she rushed over to help push. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw who he was. **Harvey Dent! **

The left side of his face was barely even there and burned to non-recognition! She could see the bone at some places and his left eyelid was gone.

Samantha was temporarily stunned but quickly cleared her head and concentrated on getting him to the emergency room as soon as possible.

Dent's right eye wearily opened and landed on her.

"Dent? Mr. Dent, can you hear me?" she asked.

Dent slowly closed his eye, the left remaining open yet not seeing a thing.

Samantha glanced at the nurse to her right and then back at Dent to make sure she'd see if he opened his eye again.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Explosion, that's all I know," the nurse told her.

When they got Dent to a room, the doctors and nurses began to shout orders out. Samantha unconsciously followed the orders, but her mind was on other things.

_An explosion?_

She'd find out more hopefully.

She was happy and saddened when she was assigned as Dent's nurse. Happy because she wanted to take good care of him; disappointed because she hated seeing him in this condition.

Later on, Samantha did learn more about the explosion.

"The Joker was responsible from what I heard the cops say," Dr. Loan told her as they walked down the halls.

"The Joker?" Samantha stopped her breathing for a moment. "I thought he was in jail?" she asked.

"So did I. He had the whole thing set up already. Some people on the inside kidnapped Dent and his girlfriend, Rachel Dawes, and took them to two separate locations. Then he busted out of there."

"Rachel Dawes? Where is she?"

Doctor Loan and Samantha stopped in front of Dent's room window. He sighed. "Batman was able to save Mr. Dent…the police couldn't get to Miss Dawes in time." After that bit of news was delivered, he left.

Samantha stood there, speechless. She faced the window and placed a hand on the glass, looking in at the sleeping Harvey Dent.

"Joker, what have you done?" she whispered.

…..

When Alfred learned of Rachel's death, it was like a blow to the heart. He'd known her since she was a small child who played with Bruce around Wayne Manor. The old butler had been like a grandfather to her.

It was in the early hours of the morning that Alfred finally brought himself to read Rachel's letter.

"_Dear Bruce: I need to be honest and clear. I'm going to marry Harvey Dent. I love him, and I want to spend the rest of my life with him. When I told you that if Gotham no longer needed Batman, we could be together…I meant it. But now I'm sure the day won't come when you no longer need Batman. I hope it does. _

_And if it does, I will be there but as your friend. I'm sorry to let you down. If you lose your faith in me, please keep your faith in people. _

_Love, now and always,_

_ Rachel."_

Alfred's vision blurred with the threat of tears as he put Rachel's letter back in its envelope and set it on Bruce's breakfast tray.

It was barely the crack of dawn when Master Wayne had returned to the penthouse. He had taken off his cape, gauntlets, and mask and thrown them to the floor as he walked to a chair that sat in front of the large windows over-looking the city. That was where Alfred found him as he carried breakfast to Bruce.

"Prepared a little breakfast," he said and placed the tray on the small table near Bruce's chair. He still starred ahead, unmoving. Alfred waited a moment before deciding to walk away. "Very well, then."

"Alfred."

He immediately turned back around. "Yes, Master Wayne?"

"Did I bring this on her? I was meant to inspire good, not madness, not death."

"You have inspired good. But you spat in the faces of Gotham's criminals. Didn't you think there might be some casualties? Things are always gonna get worse before they get better."

"But Rachel, Alfred…"

"Rachel believed in what you stood for…" Alfred bent down and picked up Bruce's mask, "what we stand for." He laid it in Bruce's lap. "Gotham needs you."

Bruce stared into the mask's eyeholes. They were empty and soulless; like he felt at the moment.

"No, Gotham needs its true hero…and I let that murdering psychopath blow him half to hell."

"Which is why, for now, they're gonna have to make do with you."

Bruce looked up at Alfred. "She was gonna wait for me Alfred."

Alfred froze and remained quiet.

"Dent doesn't know. He can never know," Bruce insisted.

Alfred barely hesitated. He very quickly picked up Rachel's letter and turned to leave. Bruce noticed it though. "What's that?" he asked.

"It can wait," Alfred told him.

"That bandit…in the forest in Burma. Did you catch him?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"We burned the forest down."

…..

"Excuse me, nurse?"

Samantha turned to see a man coming up behind her. Her jaw dropped at the sight of him. "Lieutenant Gordon? But you're dead!" she said without thinking.

He arched an eyebrow and smiled. "It was a spur of the moment ruse for the Joker," he explained.

Samantha eyed him critically until she was sure he was flesh and blood.

"I'm here to see Harvey Dent. I was told that you're his nurse."

"Follow me," Samantha said.

Gordon followed her, side-by-side, down the hall. "So, Nurse…" he glanced at her I.D. tag, "Reads, how is he?" He paused and looked at her tag again. "You wouldn't happen to be Samantha Reads?" he asked.

She sighed and gave a tired smile. "That's me."

"I've wanted to meet you face to face, but not like this." Samantha nodded in understanding.

Gordon cleared his throat. "About Dent…?"

"In a way, Mr. Dent's fine. In others…"

"What do you mean?"

"The burns have seared to the bone. It will take years for him to heal physically."

"Physically?"

"The doctor suspects he may be damaged mentally."

"How so?"

"He's in terrible pain, yet he refuses morphine and skin grafts. He tore off the bandages we put over the exposed side of his face."

They paused at Dent's door and Gordon showed the police officer posted to stand watch his badge. "I can only let you speak to him for fifteen minutes."

"Thank you," Gordon said and moved to step inside when Samantha put a hand out to stop him.

"Lieutenant-."

"It's Commissioner now," Gordon said almost bashfully.

"Commissioner, I have to warn you…the damage to his face was very severe. Just try to prepare yourself," Samantha advised.

Gordon nodded, inhaled through his nose, exhaled and walked into the room. Samantha stood outside the door for a moment and watched as Gordon quietly walked over to Dent. She briefly gnawed on her thumbnail before turning to leave. Samantha grunted when she nearly knocked over a man.

She looked up to see Maroni. He adjusted his light brown suit and gave her a sly grin. "Well, isn't this a surprise?" he said.

Samantha lifted an eyebrow. "Have we met?" she asked.

"Not face to face, but I caught a glimpse of you from a window with your boyfriend."

"My boyfriend?"

"The Joker."

Samantha's face screwed up in disgust. "Ugh." She went to push past him but he gave a deep chuckle and grabbed her elbow to steer her back to him.

"Now wait a minute, doll face, where's Gordon?"

Samantha jerked her head towards the room and pulled away. Maroni watched as she left, taking his time to admire the sway of her hips.

"Maybe when this is over, you and I can go out to a fancy dinner, huh?" he called out. Samantha frowned at him from over her shoulder and kept on going.

…

Dent had his face turned to where the burned side was pressed against his pillow, unseen. Gordon stood to the right of his bed where the damaged part was facing him. A few seconds of silence passed between them until Gordon sighed.

"I'm sorry about Rachel," he said. He tried to think of something else to say and remembered Samantha's words. "The doctor says you're in agonizing pain, but that you won't accept medication. That you're refusing to accept skin grafts."

"Remember that name you all had for me when I was at Internal Affairs? What was it, Gordon?" Harvey asked, suddenly.

"Harvey, I…" Gordon stuttered.

"Say it," Harvey prodded.

Gordon remained quiet.

"SAY IT!" Harvey shouted.

Gordon looked down at the floor in shame. "Two-Face. Har- Harvey Two-Face."

Dent turned his head to look at Gordon; giving him a good view of his mutilated face. Gordon's eyes widened and thought his heart nearly stopped beating.

"Why should I hide who I am?" Dent asked spitefully and looked away, concealing the disfigurement.

Gordon tried to find his voice again and was able to speak when he gazed down at the floor. "I know you tried to warn me. I'm sorry. Wuertz picked you up. Was he working for them?"

Harvey scoffed at Gordon's question.

"Do you know who picked up Rachel?" Gordon asked. Dent kept his face turned away, refusing to meet his eyes.

"Harvey, I need to know which of my men I can trust," Gordon begged.

"Why would you listen to me now?" Dent growled.

"I'm sorry, Harvey."

Harvey turned his face to Gordon. Both eyes seemed to be burning with a deep hatred. The left side of Dent's lips were burned away and transformed into an eternal snarl, which made him look even more furious.

"No. No, you're not. Not yet."

…..

When Gordon left Dent's room, he found Maroni standing there in the hall, waiting for him. "This craziness, it's too much," he said smirking.

Gordon frowned and walked past him. "You should've thought about that before you let the clown out of the box."

"You want 'im?"

Gordon stopped. He slowly turned to look at Maroni who still had his back to him. Maroni paused as if in thought.

"I can tell you where he'll be this afternoon," he finally admitted.

…..

After the very much alive Commissioner Gordon had left, Samantha stepped inside the room and walked over to the monitors, checking them. She heard a slight movement from Dent's bed. He was staring at her.

Samantha felt her skin crawl at the sight of his face and was immediately ashamed. "Sorry, did I wake you?" she apologized.

"No," he answered in a low voice.

"Can I get you anything?"

"No."

Samantha went about her duties, aware that Dent was watching her very closely. "I've seen you before," he said in that same low tone.

"Yes, you have."

He closed his one good eye as if picturing where they had met.

Samantha wondered if his right eye could still see when he was asleep.

Dent opened his eye and focused on her. "You're Samantha Reads. We met at Bruce Wayne's party."

She nodded. "Yes."

"The police said you made the Joker chase after you to get him away from the crowd."

"That's me."

"Very brave of you."

"Miss Dawes had been brave too. I'm very sorry about her."

Dent fell silent. "Did you ever meet her?" he asked with a slight tremor in his voice.

"I bumped into her at Wayne's penthouse before she…" Samantha drifted off, almost afraid to say it.

"Died?" Dent finished for her.

"Yes, sir."

Dent swallowed a knot in his throat and sighed deeply as he gazed at a double headed coin in his hand. One side was damaged with scratches and burns. He had given it to her before he went in the SWAT van. Dent found it on the desk by his bed when he woke up from being unconscious.

Samantha looked around the room and cleared her throat. "Well…uh…you'll be moved to a new room in an hour or so."

"Fine."

She gave a weak smile and began to head for the door. "Are you sure I can't get you anything?" she asked.

"I'm fine," was his answer.

"Okay, I'll be seeing you in your new room soon."

"See you then."

Samantha slipped out and closed the door behind her. The officer flashed her a smile. She managed to pull her facial muscles into something that could pass as one and walked away. It was getting harder to smile now.

…

Down at the docks; cars were parked outside of a shipment warehouse. The Russian, Chechen, was told to come here and meet the Joker. When he walked in with his men, he saw a giant pile of money stacked up high. Chechen searched with his eyes for the purple-suited man, but only found his thugs.

He looked back up at the pile of money and saw a purple- sleeved arm extend into the air, followed by the rest of the Joker as he carefully stood up from his sitting position. Right beside him, bound and gagged, was Lau. Chechen bit down on his cigar as he smiled.

"Not so crazy as you look," he told him.

"I tooold you, I'm a man of my word."

The Joker ruffled Lau's hair before leaping into the air and sliding down the hill of money. He gave a little bounce and landed on his feet. He looked back at the money and watched some of the small stacks trail down after him. He turned to Chechen. "Where's the Italian?" he asked.

"Not coming. He said he was busy."

The Joker licked his lips and picked up a stack of bills. "Uh-huh…" he muttered.

He glanced at Lau and threw the money at him. It hit Lau against the side of his head with a loud 'SMACK!' Seeing that he hit his target, he picked up another stack and again succeeded in hitting his target.

"Please! Joker-man," Chechen said, trying to get his attention back. "What you do with all your money?"

The Joker stopped his game and looked at Chechen. He pulled out his gun and moved his arms around as he spoke. "You see, I'm a guy of simple taste."

Chechen raised his bushy eyebrows in a way that showed he was a little surprised. The Joker went on to explain.

"I enjoy, uh, dynamite, and gunpowder, and-," he raised his voice, "_gasoline_."

He looked back to see if Red had gotten the message and was happy to find him pouring the can of gasoline on the pile of money.

"What the-?" Chechen began, taking a step forward.

"Ah-ta-ta-ta-tah," the Joker said, pointing his gun at him. Chechen froze.

"And you know the thing that they have in common? They're _cheap-ah._"

"You said you were a man of your word?"

"Oh I am."

The Joker grabbed Chechen's cigar and blew on it twice. "I'm only burning my half." He tossed the cigar onto the money and it ignited immediately.

The flames quickly licked up the gasoline and ate the cash. Chechen and his men watched in horror as millions of dollars began to disappear before their eyes.

The Joker stared at Chechen intensely. "All you care about is money. This town deserves a better class of criminal and I'm gonna give it to 'em." He tapped Chechen with the barrel of the gun. "Tell your men they work for me now. This is **my** city."

"They won't work for a **freak**," Chechen's voice shook with fury.

"**Freeeak-ah**," the Joker mocked Chechen's accent, leering at him.

A knife suddenly appeared in his left hand. "Why don't we cut you up into little pieces and feed ya to your pooches? Hm? And then we'll see how loyal a hungry dog really is!"

He tossed the knife to one of Chechen's men who came up behind Chechen. The man caught it and pressed the blade against Chechen's throat as he and another thug dragged him away. The sounds of three Rottweilers barking grew louder and more aggressive.

The Joker pulled out a cell phone and began to dial a number. "It's not about _money_, it's abooout sending message. Everything burns."

He finished dialing and put the phone next to his ear. At that point, Lau's screams of agony reached him like sweet music. He had left the squealer on top of the money and now Lau was dying the way he deserved to.

He focused his attention back to the sound of the phone ringing. Before coming to the warehouse, he heard that a man by the name of Coleman Reece, knew the identity of Batman and was going to announce it on GCN live at five. GCN would be accepting calls from people to get their opinion on whether he should go through with it or not.

"You're on the air, who is this?" a voice asked. It was Mike Engel.

The Joker rolled his eyes. He found the man to be too cheesy sometimes.

"I had a vision, of a world without Batman. The mob ground out a little profit and the police try to shut them down one block at a time. And it was sooo…_boring_. I've had a change of heart. I don't want Mr. Reece spoiling everything but why should **I** have all the fun?" Even though he knew they couldn't see him, the Joker shrugged in a comical way. "Let's give somebody else a chance. If Coleman_ Reece_ isn't dead in sixty minutes, then I blow up a hospital." He slapped the phone shut and slipped it into his pocket.

He jerked his head towards the doors. "Come on, boys. I'm driving!"

A few scattered groans were heard. The Joker eyed them and strolled to the exit. He caught sight of the three Rottweilers and stared at them thoughtfully. "Bring the dogs," he ordered and continued walking.

"You got it, boss," one of Chechen's men replied.

The Joker grinned and began humming to 'Sway,' which caused a few men to lift an eyebrow.

….

Red sat quietly next to the Joker in the passenger seat. He couldn't figure why the Joker wanted to bring the dogs along? They came to a sudden stop at the back of Gotham General Hospital.

"Get to your stations," the Joker told them.

They spilled out and immediately went to their places. The Joker went to the back door of the hospital and grinned when he found it unlocked.

"_Who said you couldn't buy people with money?"_

…

Samantha walked down the hall to Harvey Dent's new room as she looked over his papers. She had pulled her hair back into a pony tail and stuck a pen behind her ear.

So far, Dent was healing the best that could be expected. She let out a sigh of relief and looked up from the papers attached to her clipboard. She saw a red-headed nurse standing with her back to Samantha.

She walked past the woman and was suddenly pulled backwards and shoved into a corner, out of sight from anyone coming.

Samantha grimaced from the pain she felt in her back.

"I can't believe we keep running into each other," a voice said.

Samantha's jaw dropped when she saw that it was the red-headed nurse…or so she thought.

The Joker wore the nurses' dress, a red wig, and a surgical mask. He took off the mouth piece and grinned. "Did you miss me?" he asked in a playful tone.

Samantha took in the outfit. This was more ridiculous than the purple suit!

"What are you doing here? And why are you in a dress?" she whispered.

"The less you know, the better," he said.

Samantha had an idea, but had asked so she could distract him as she slowly moved her clipboard behind her back.

"Where's Dent?" he asked.

"I'm not telling," she said coldly.

The Joker leaned in closer and put his arms on the wall behind her, trapping Samantha in the corner with his face inches from hers. "Playing games are we?" he asked.

"Do I even _look_ like I'm stupid enough to answer your question?"

"No, you're a smart woman. But I don't need you to answer me." He suddenly reached behind her and swiped the clipboard out of her hands. He waved it in front of her face. "I got aaall I need, right here," he said with a smirk.

Samantha closed her eyes in disappointment.

"Aaaw, come on. The Joker grinned as he caressed her cheek with his index finger's knuckle. "You tried to hide it," he said in a mock comforting voice. He stared at her for a moment and the looked out at the hallway to see no one. He faced Samantha again. "I'm going to blow up the hospital," he whispered.

Samantha's eyes widened.

"The cops should be pulling up with all sorts of buses any second-."

There was a click as the loud speakers came on. "Attention all staff, patients, and visitors. We have been ordered to evacuate the hospital immediately. Empty the building now. Transportation is being provided." There was another click and the announcement was over.

The Joker looked at Samantha with a mischievous smile on his face. It was like he was saying, "Told ya so."

"I suggest that you get on one of those buses."

"Not until I get my patients out of here."

"Alright then, but I need to 'check up'," he waved the clipboard, "on Mr. Harvey Dent."

The Joker began to walk away but Samantha grabbed his shoulder. "Don't you dare!" she hissed. He simply brushed off her hand. Samantha's anger rose. She ran in front of him and shoved him back. "Back off!" she ordered.

The Joker's eyes flashed and she realized she'd made a mistake. He raised his hand and back-handed her. Samantha fell to her hands and knees as he kept walking. She touched the spot where it burned from the blow. He had not struck her before. That wasn't a good sign.

Samantha quickly stood to her feet and looked around. She did not see him. "Oh no," she whispered. She ran down the hall he had headed and came to a cross section.

There was still no sign of him. A thought occurred to her.

"_He must have the detonator."_

Samantha ran a hand through her disheveled hair and took a deep breath. She did not get the chance to look up the new number of Dent's room. She did know it was down the right hallway, so she headed for that direction.

She wasn't completely at wits end. Samantha knew that Dent had officers ay his doors. Armed officers. Surely they would stop the Joker. But the Joker was highly intelligent and he probably knew there would be armed guards and came armed himself.

That thought caused Samantha to quicken her pace.

On her way down the hall, Samantha saw most of the staff escorting visitors or patients out of the building. It was becoming chaos. She asked several people if they had seen a red headed nurse; not wanting to scare them even more by saying it was the Joker. They all said 'no'. Everyone was too busy getting out to notice anything.

She saw no officers guarding a room, so she asked a doctor if he knew where Dent's room was. He did in fact know and told her the number. She hurried even faster down the hall, bumping into people as she did.

Samantha glanced at all the people she passed, wishing she cold help them. But she couldn't help them now. At the moment, she had to find Dent.

She ran down an entirely empty hall to Dent's room and screeched to a stop around a corner.

A cop was in the room and the Joker had just shot him with a silenced gun. Samantha's scream was anything but silent. The Joker's head snapped up in her direction and she covered her mouth. He hurried over and grabbed her by the arms.

"Get on the bus," he said.

"You're gonna kill him."

"I may and may not," he answered and flicked his tongue over his scars. "Get in a bus," he repeated.

Samantha glared.

"Go now!" he urged and pushed her away.

She stepped back up to him. "No!" she said defiantly as they locked eyes with each other.

The Joker clenched his teeth and balled his fists beside his head. He suddenly aimed the gun at her. "Go!" he yelled.

Samantha froze.

"_Would he…?"_

He fired the gun and a chip appeared on the wall beside her; very close beside her. Samantha let out another surprised scream, her heart hammering within her chest. She glanced at the chip in the wall and looked back at the Joker. His eyes were black and narrowed at her. She slowly started to inch away.

The Joker gave a low growl from the back of his throat and fired again, missing but still very close.

Samantha turned and ran. She skidded on the floor as she quickly turned down the hall to the main lobby. She pushed past the doors and the sunlight momentarily impaired her vision. Samantha squinted and made out a policeman near a bus, helping load the patients and visitors.

"Officer!" she called as she jogged towards him.

He looked at her with beads of perspiration dotting his forehead.

"Officer-!"

"Good, I need your help loading this patient," he said, grimacing as he tried to hold a crippled man in his arms while others were loading the man's wheel chair into the back door of the bus.

"The Joker-!"

"We know the Joker is responsible for making the threat. Please hurry."

"But-."

"Ma'am, please help me!"

Samantha growled in frustration and helped the man onto the bus. When he was taken care of, she tried to speak to the officer again.

"Sir, what I've been trying to tell you is-."

That's when the hospital began to explode. Everyone around her screamed.

"Get in the bus! Get in the bus!" a doctor yelled. A camera man pulled reporter Mike Engel into the bus she stood by.

Samantha saw the Joker walk out of the hospital's front doors as if nothing was happening. As if a building was not bursting into a flaming ball of orange and red. He was still wearing the nurse uniform.

Samantha clambered into the bus through the back door. She expected someone to close it any second and they would drive off, leaving the Joker behind.

The explosion slowed and then stopped all together. Samantha made her way to the back door again and was about to close it, but paused to see what the Joker was doing. He was messing with a remote in his hands…the detonator. It seemed it wasn't working to the Joker's liking.

Suddenly a loud 'Boom' sounded, making the Joker visibly jump, and the explosions continued. The Joker started running towards her bus!

Samantha reached for the door handle but the Joker reached the bus before she could shut it. He pushed her down, jumped in, and shut the door behind him. He sat down in the back seat and the bus began to move.

Now Samantha understood. She and everyone else on the bus were hostages.

As the hospital was being destroyed, the Joker never looked back. Not once. He looked down at Samantha and grinned. She got up from the floor and glared at him.

There was an elderly lady sitting two seats away. She saw him and fear sprang into her eyes. "The Joker!" she exclaimed.

All heads turned and saw him. People began to scream.

Five people stood up and held guns in their hands. Two were in doctors coats.

"_No,"_ Samantha thought, fearfully.

Only two real doctors were on the bus and one other nurse. "Nobody tries anything," a henchman yelled.

The old lady put a hand to her heart. She looked like she was going into cardiac arrest! This was too big of a shock for her!

Samantha hurried over to the lady.

"Hey!" the henchman yelled and fired at her. Samantha gasped and ducked; the bullet went through a window.

The Joker jumped up and pointed at him. "No! I want her alive!" he snapped.

The henchman looked at Samantha and gave a dirty grin. "I would too," he said.

Samantha ignored him and bent down to look at the old woman. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm worried about my granddaughter. We were separated and had to get on different buses. What if what's happening to us is happening to the others? She's only nine years old," the woman said fearfully.

Samantha had been wondering the same thing. "Stay calm. I'll ask the Joker."

The elderly woman grasped her arm. "Oh, no! Don't do that!" she begged.

"You have to know, so does everyone else who's worrying about the same thing," Samantha told her and gently pried the woman's hand off.

The bus jolted as she stood up. The Joker was pulling on his pants and shirt at the moment. Samantha's cheeks colored and she decided to wait. When he was still buttoning up his shirt, she went over. He stopped when he saw her and grinned.

"Hello," he said. There were still four buttons left open.

"Are other buses being held hostage?" she asked immediately.

"Of course not," he answered calmly.

Samantha narrowed her eyes. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

He put a hand over his heart. "I'm hurt," he pouted.

"Well, how can I trust you?"

"I promise you, no other buses are being taken. I'm a man of my word."

"Okay, fine. Is the district attorney still alive?"

The Joker looked at her and a sick smile spread across his face. His tongue darted over his lips. "Yes," he said darkly.

"What did you do?"

"It's a surprise."

Another jolt, bigger than the last, made Samantha loose her balance and fall on the Joker. He giggled and put his arms around her.

"Let go," she hissed.

"Mmm…No."

"I said let go!"

The Joker's arms locked around her. "And I clearly said 'no', didn't I?" He leaned back in his seat, pulling Samantha with him. Her heart pounded as she struggled to get away. He only laughed. "Why don't you stay with me for awhile?" he asked, jokingly.

She had no choice. He wrapped a strand of her hair around his bare finger.

"What are you doing?" Samantha whispered.

The smile disappeared from his face and he just stared into her eyes. The last time he had looked at her like that was ….

Samantha tensed as the Joker ran his fingers through her hair. "Relax," he said.

"Relax? How can I relax when-?"

He took her hand and kissed her wrist. She jerked her hand away like she had been burned. He grabbed it again.

"Don't stop me," he whispered in an aggravated tone.

He kissed her wrist again and she brought her other hand up to slap his face. He caught that hand and wrapped one of his around both her wrists and pointed a finger at her.

"How many times do I have to tell you-?"

One of the thugs dressed as a doctor walked over and his gaze landed on the two of them. He paused when he saw Samantha and the Joker's positions together and grinned as he turned back the way he'd come.

"What are you grinning about?" one of the other thugs asked him.

"The Joker's got himself a girl, that nurse you shot at," the fake doctor said.

"Oh really?" the henchman asked with a grin.

Samantha overheard them and yanked one hand free from his. She hit the Joker on the chest hard, making him grunt.

"Jerk," she said through clenched teeth.

He cackled and captured both hands again. "Feisty," he said.

"Shut up, freak," she hissed as she pushed away.

The Joker grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her head back. He put his face close to hers, his brown eyes positively blazing. "If you don't stop struggling, I'll-!"

"Samantha!" The other real nurse, Veronica, had come to the back and saw them. She glared at the Joker, grabbed Samantha by the shoulders, and pulled her out of his arms.

The Joker jumped up and towered over Veronica. He grabbed her ponytail of black hair and pulled out a knife.

"You wanna know what I do to people who butt in like you just did?" he snarled. Samantha could tell he was clearly enraged.

"Stop it, Joker!" She didn't really believe he'd listen to her, but it just came natural to say it.

Veronica's brown eyes widened as he brought the knife closer to her face.

"Joker!"

Not knowing what else to do, Samantha grabbed his hand and sunk her teeth into his skin.

"Ah!"

He about lashed out at her but froze. They locked eyes and remained that way for nearly a minute. Slowly, he lowered the knife and let go of Veronica. The Joker licked his lips, bared his teeth at her, and then walked to the front of the bus to the driver.

Veronica and Samantha sat down, wondering what would happen next. Samantha shivered.

"Are you alright?" Veronica asked her.

"I'm not entirely sure."

"Nurse Reads!" one of the real doctors yelled.

Samantha's head shot up to look at the front and saw one of the patients had stopped breathing. She recognized the patient. He had been on a breathing machine and the doctors must not have had enough time to grab the transportable machine for him.

She rushed to the front, shoving aside a minion of the Joker.

The Joker watched her with a sneer and a look in his eyes that chilled her. There was a hungry look in those brown eyes of his. Very hungry and very dark.

In less than a minute the patient was breathing again. Samantha was responsible for these peoples' lives, but so were the other doctors and Veronica. She made herself a promise that she would get these people home safely.

Later on, the bus pulled up to an old warehouse. Samantha peered out of her window.

"_What is it with criminals and warehouses?" _

The Joker looked at Mike Engle with a stomach churning stare. "Take him inside and tie him up," he ordered his henchmen.

Mike was taken away as Samantha hurried over to the Joker. "What are you going to do to him?"

He switched his gaze to her, debating on whether or not to be angry with her. He chose to brush off the fact she had bitten him.

"Calm down, Esmeralda."

"Tell me what you're going to do!" she demanded.

"My, my, my, aren't we being pushy?" He let out a short laugh and licked his lips before taking her hand in his. "Come on, I'll show you!" He began to run with her in tow out of the bus and to the warehouse.

He took her to a large room where the two men had just finished up tying Engle. There was a chain with a hook right above Engle's head.

"Hoist yer colors! Hang him upside down," the Joker laughed.

He took out a small video camera from the pocket of his purple suit. Samantha backed a step away from him. His arm shot out and seized her wrist. "Oh no you don't." The Joker pulled her back beside him. He wrapped an arm around her waist. "You're staying here with me."

Samantha was tired of being pulled around, so she stood still for the moment. That seemed to surprise and please the Joker.

The henchmen hung Engle upside down as the Joker requested, and he handed Engle some sheets of paper with messy red writing on it.

"When I tell you, I want you to read what I wrote on those papers. Got it?"

Engle nodded fearfully and took the sheets.

The Joker snickered as he and Samantha stepped away from him and the henchmen hung a mock _Gotham Tonight_ background behind the reporter.

"Now for your make-up! You can't let the public see you like this!"

The Joker dug out a tube of bright red lipstick and quickly smeared it over Engle's mouth.

"Perfect," the Joker said. He held Samantha closer to his side as he trained the camera on the reporter. "Now."

Engle stared at the camera, glanced down at the papers and began to read.

"I'm Mike Engle, for _Gotham Tonight._ What does it take to make you people want to join in? You failed to kill the lawyer; I've got to get you off the bench and into the game."

The Joker sometimes repeated snippets of the words. "Bench, game," he snickered.

"Come nightfall this city is mine,"

"Mine…,"

"And anyone left here plays by my rules."

"Rules…"

"If you don't want to be in the game-," here they said it together, "get out now."

"But the bridge and tunnel crowd are sure in for a surprise. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha," Mike read with a dead pan expression on his face.

The Joker began to laugh and turned off the camera. "Send that video to GCN," he said as he handed it to a henchman.

He and Samantha watched as the other man took down Engle. "Put him back on the bus and join the others…I'll be there in a few minutes."

They left the Joker and Samantha alone.

"Alone at last," he said with a smile.

"Why?" Samantha asked him.

He raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"

"Why me? You could choose to kill me without a moment's hesitation, I know you could, and yet you don't. Why?"

He wrapped a strand of her hair around a gloved finger. "You fascinate me. You amuuuuse me." He leaned in to whisper in her ear, his lips brushing her cheek. "You're…unpredic_tabl-ah…_like me_."_

Samantha stiffened. She felt sick. He was comparing her to _him_?

She caught herself looking into his brown eyes. Puppy dog brown eyes on the face of a killer. The contrast was dizzying.

"You know something, Samantha? I think…I like you too much."

She felt her skin crawl when he took off his left glove and lightly traced her lips with his fingers.

"Joker..."

"Hm?"

"Stop."

The Joker paused with the tip of his finger touching the corner of her mouth and withdrew his hand.

"You can't stand me, can you?" he asked.

Samantha gazed at him for a moment.

"_Why the make-up?"_ she wondered.

"Let me see your face," she asked suddenly.

He lifted his eyebrows. "Will you kiss me if I do?" he teased.

Samantha didn't answer and the smile left.

He backed away and took out a purple bandanna and a small bottle from a coat pocket. He wet the rag with the liquid in the bottle and turned away from her. He wiped his face for a few minutes.

When he turned back to face her, Samantha was dumbstruck. She remembered how he looked in high school and how cute he had been; now he was eleven years better. And yet at the same time he looked ragged.

His skin, what would have been a glorious tan, was pale and despite the fact he always wore black paint around his eyes she could tell that the black smudges were also from a lack of sleep.

But there was no denying the obvious. He was extremely handsome…except for those horrible scars….

The Joker replaced the rag and bottle in his pocket. "Now you see me." He walked up to her until there was less than seven inches of space between them. He spread both arms out with his palms up. "What do you think?" he asked.

Samantha bit her lip. "You've changed," she said.

The Joker snickered and licked his lips. She could see the scars more clearly, still a bit smeared with red and white paint. He took a step closer and brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

"Hello beautiful," he said in a low voice and placed his mouth over hers.

His hands latched onto her when she tried to fight, which restricted her movements. But that's when she realized…he was a great kisser. All the more reason for her to fight him off!

Samantha broke away from him, but he wasn't having any of it. "I'm not done with you yet," he said as he pulled her back.

"Don't-!" She was cut off from his lips covering her own. His arm pinned Samantha against him. A low moan escaped from the Joker.

"Hey boss!"

The Joker's head quickly snapped away from Samantha; breaking off their kiss suddenly.

"Hey boss! The guys are getting antsy!" a thug called out from somewhere unseen. He appeared from behind a wall and his steps faltered when he caught the Joker holding onto Samantha so closely and without his face paint on.

"Dopey, take Miss Reads to the bus," the Joker ordered with annoyance.

Dopey nodded and grabbed her by the arm. As they began to walk, Samantha cast a glance over her shoulder to see the Joker staring at her with an intense look on his face.

He didn't follow them; he stayed behind so he could reapply his war paint. He didn't smile when Samantha had looked back at him. He just stared right back until she turned away. It was the only thing he could do.

Samantha had been shocked, but not as much as he had been when he kissed her. Sure, he had known he wanted to, but for a joke and a good laugh at her expense, but…he didn't expect to have wanted it so bad…or enjoy it like he had all those long years ago.

He slowly ran his tongue over his lips, and looked up at the ceiling before digging into another pocket to get his back up face paint. He spotted a cracked office window that lent a decent reflection and walked to it.

As he covered his face with the white paint, he couldn't help but think that at one point during their kiss…it almost felt like she had stopped struggling and _let_ him kiss her.

**(Alrighty, there's chapter ten! I hope you enjoyed it. It's nearing its ending and I have one thing to ask my readers….how many of you would continue being my readers if I wrote a sequel? I want to know what you think of this chapter and you thoughts about it…which is another way of me begging you to press that pretty little button below that says 'Review'. Yeah, that one right there. I know you're looking at it right now, so why don't you go ahead and press it? Press it! It's easy! Click your mouse!...*clears throat* Anywho, I would really like to hear back from you and be on the look out for the last two chapters to this story.) **


	11. Chapter 11

**(*sits down at computer with a drink and logs in to account. Takes a sip and spews it out when I see how many people have reviewed and read it already.* "Holy Crap!")**

Chapter Eleven

After half an hour of sitting in the bus, Samantha looked out the window and saw the Joker heading their way. He had his make-up back on. He got on the bus, cast a glance at Samantha, and sat in the seat behind the driver.

The Joker put a hand to his head for a moment and sighed. "The Prewitt Building, make it fast," he told the driver.

Once the vehicle was moving, the Joker put both hands behind his head and leaned back in a relaxed position.

Veronica got up and sat next to Samantha. "Everyone on the bus is beginning to look to you, Samantha," she whispered.

"Why?"

"Because you and the Joker talk, he lets you live. The passengers have begun to think of you as our chance of survival."

Samantha stared at the back of the Joker's head.

Veronica eyed her. "There's something between you and him, isn't there?"

Samantha didn't answer.

"He likes you doesn't he? That's why he's letting you live," Veronica whispered excitedly.

"I'm trying to work that to everyone's advantage," Samantha whispered back.

Veronica inclined her head in the Joker's direction. "Then you better start working."

Samantha raised an eyebrow. "Are you telling me to seduce him?"

"Whatever it takes to make sure we're safe and alive."

"I can't."

"Why not?" Veronica snapped.

"Well, we're not exactly friendly to each other."

"That's not what I saw going on in the back of the bus. He was _all_ _over_ you!"

"You think I_ wanted_ him to be?"

"All I know, Samantha, is that we are responsible for all these people's lives and you are the only one here with the power to do something about it."

Samantha glared at Veronica. How dare she dump the responsibility on her? Just because the Joker was…partial to her…didn't mean he was going to release a busload of hostages all because Samantha batted her eyelashes at him. The very thought of batting her eyelashes at him almost made her laugh.

Samantha set her jaw and shook her head. "I'm not seducing him. It's wrong."

Veronica scoffed in disbelief. "Fine time for you to choose what's right and wrong."

"He wouldn't go for it," Samantha insisted.

"If he wants you bad enough he will, and I saw his face, he wants you-."

"That's enough, Veronica!" Samantha snapped.

Veronica glared but said nothing as she turned to face forward in her seat. "If anyone on this bus dies, it's your fault," she said stiffly.

Her remark was like a punch in the gut, leaving Samantha breathless.

She stared at Veronica but the woman did not meet her gaze. Samantha looked down at her shoes before moving two seats in front, away from Veronica. She caught the Joker watching her, his expression curious. He raised an eyebrow at her.

Samantha turned her face away and gazed out the window beside her. She couldn't help but wonder; what if Veronica was right? She quickly shook the thought out of her head, only to have it jump back in.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't realize the Joker had switched seats and was sitting next to her until he let out a loud sigh. Samantha jumped, startled that he had been there without her knowing. Now that he had gotten her attention, the Joker slid further into the seat, nearly crushing Samantha against the window.

She gave an annoyed grunt and used her shoulder to push him away a few inches; which gave her some room to breath.

The Joker let out a low chuckle and moistened his lips. "Why so glum?" he asked.

"Take a wild guess."

He laughed through his nose. "What did that nurse say to make you look like you just got stabbed?"

Samantha avoided his eyes. "Nothing," she replied quickly.

A purple gloved hand grasped her chin and pulled it in the Joker's direction. "Lying doesn't suit you, Samantha."

He stroked her chin with his thumb; waiting for her to answer. He let go after she gave no explanation.

Samantha turned her head away. She felt some tugging on her hair as the Joker pulled the hair band out of Samantha's already loose ponytail. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he continually wheeled both index fingers inside the band.

"I like your being down," he told her.

He began to amuse himself with the band, stretching it and wheeling it around his fingers. The Joker quickly grew tired of this and glanced up at the seat in front of him.

Samantha saw the mischievous glint in his dark eyes as he stared at the back of a girl's head, sitting in front of him.

It didn't take a mathematician to know what would happen next.

Joker + Stretchy Hair Band =…..

The Joker lifted his arm, stretched the band, aimed, and fired at the back of the teenager's head. The band hit its mark and the teen yelped. She turned in her seat, aggravation clearly evident on her face.

"What the heck is your pro-?" The words died on her lips when she saw who she was yelling at. The expression on her face changed instantly to one of fear and she froze.

The Joker raised an eyebrow, innocently. "Is there a problem?" he asked, his tone holding a slight threat.

"None at all," the girl stuttered and hurriedly faced the front again.

Samantha heard the familiar '_click_' of a switchblade opening as the Joker stood and leaned forward. He brought out his knife and held it up for the girl to see. "Good, because to me it sounded like you were about to yell at me," he said menacingly.

The girl began to whimper and he snickered at her discomfort.

Samantha felt heat rushing to her face. "Leave her alone."

The Joker looked at Samantha then back at the girl before finally settling down in his seat. "Then I guess I'll have to amuse myself with you." His right arm slid across the top of Samantha's seat and fell like dead weight onto her shoulders.

He gave her a painful squeeze as he let out a low chuckle. Samantha could feel Veronica's stare drilling into the back of her head. She tried to look over her shoulder at Veronica without attracting the Joker's attention, but he seemed to notice everything she did.

"What'cha lookin' at?" he asked lazily as he too, twisted his neck around. His eyes landed on the nurse and she immediately paled.

"Oh, ho, ho," the Joker said as he ran his tongue along his lips. He turned to face Samantha, who had quickly looked away from Veronica the moment she saw him turn his head.

The Joker sighed as he laid back in his seat; his arm still on Samantha. "She must have said something that tugged on those heart strings of yours."

Samantha remained quiet, but eyed the blade in his left hand as he toyed with it.

"What did she say?"

"Why do you care?"

"I hate seeing my girl upset," he playfully pouted.

Samantha visibly tensed at those words. "I'm not your girl."

The Joker simply wet his bottom lip and stared into her eyes. Samantha stared back, praying she didn't look intimidated. The look he had in his eyes seemed to dare her to prove him wrong. But the longer she held his gaze; she saw that it also would have dangerous consequences if she did.

The Joker smirked and looked ahead; squeezing her shoulder. She could feel other people staring now. Samantha wanted to shove his arm off but was afraid it would only anger him and cause someone to get hurt. Her eyes roamed the bus to see who was looking; quite a few.

A shudder came over her as the Joker tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He was staring at her so intently, like she was a rare specimen or something. It made her nervous, as always.

His attention was grabbed by two men whispering to each other secretly. He touched the corner of his mouth with his tongue and raised his voice loud enough for all to hear.

"Nurse Reads, do you know how to take care of bullet or knife wounds?"

"Yes."

The Joker hugged her close. "Speak up, honey, I can't hear ya," he goaded.

"Yes," Samantha answered loudly.

"Good to hear. You can never know when someone might decide to do something really stupid." He paused and glared daggers at the two whispering men. "Peeopleee could get hur_t-ah_."

The two men looked at one another and came to the decision of remaining silent; whatever their plans had been were gone.

The Joker grinned at Samantha. "All a person needs is a little persuasion," he told her.

Samantha frowned and moved her head to look out the window. When he saw she wasn't going to talk to him, he snorted and got up from the seat; searching for someone else to terrify. He sat next to Veronica and tortured her for a few minutes before moving on to other people.

"What's up, doc?" he asked one of the real doctors and went on to tell him how he got his scars. Once again, it was a different story.

Samantha rested her head against the glass and closed her eyes. _"Wake up, Samantha! Wake up!" _she told herself.

Unfortunately, she was awake. This was real and she had to live with it.

She kept her eyes closed and felt herself drifting off to sleep. Something she desperately needed. Maybe she'd get lucky and she wouldn't have any nightmares. Funny, she was worried about having a nightmare while she slept when she was in the middle of a real one.

The harsh noises of the bus' engine and the crying of the patients and co-workers became less noticeable and muffled. Soon the sounds were muted and Samantha slipped into unconsciousness.

"Sweet dreams, Esmeralda…,"

….

Stillness…silence.

Samantha jolted herself awake.

Stillness and silence? On a bus with fifty people or more in it? Something was wrong.

Her emerald, green eyes swept the bus and found it to be empty. Or so she thought. The sound of someone humming reached her ears. It was meant to be cheerful, but the voice had changed it to a creepy, almost haunting tune. It sounded like it was coming from the seat behind her.

Samantha tucked her legs underneath her and used her knees to push up. She peered over the seat's back to find the Joker hunkered down in a lazy slouch, almost hidden, in his seat. His back rested against the window and his long legs were drawn in so they didn't dangle over the edge of the seat. At the moment, his attention was on cleaning a knife and twirling it nimbly with his fingers.

The Joker finally lifted his eyes up and a wide grin spread across his face.

"She lives!"

He dug the heels of his shoes into the seat and pushed himself up till he was sitting straight.

"And how did my Sleeping Beauty sleep, hm?" he asked.

"Don't know, I'll ask her when she shows up," Samantha retorted.

The Joker hooted and slapped his knee. "Oh youuuu," he drawled.

Samantha looked around again to be sure she hadn't missed anyone, but no one else was in the bus.

"Where are they?" she asked.

"Who?"

Samantha's eyes sparked. "Them! The patients, doctors, Engel, Veronica, goons! Where are they?" she shouted while motioning towards the empty spaces with her arms.

"Oooh. _Them_," he teased with a wolfish grin.

Samantha had half a mind to strangle him with that tacky tie of his.

"What did you do?"

"Why do you care?"

"Just tell me where they are, or so help me-!" She reached out to grab his tie and do just what she had been thinking, but his hands clamped onto her shoulders and pulled her over the top of the seat.

Samantha yelped in surprise and landed in his lap. He snickered at her attempts to pull away from him. He held her for a little bit before finally humoring her and let go.

Samantha jumped to her feet and turned around to look at him. "Where. Are. They?" she hissed.

"Oh, lighten up, Samantha. They're safe, for now at least. It all depends on the cops now."

He got out of the seat and moved past her to the front. "They're disguised as my clown thugs and are perfect targets for snipers at the Prewitt Building. Perhaps you'd like to see?"

He gave the lever to operate the bus doors a violent pull and they flew open. He extended his hand out. "After you, mademoiselle," he chuckled.

She clambered down the stairs and sensed more than she heard him following her. A hand on her waist told her that was as far as she was allowed to go.

Samantha clenched her fists when she felt his thumb stroking her hip. She ignored the urge to elbow him in the gut and looked up at the sky. It had turned to a dull grey as it approached night. Straight ahead was the Prewitt Building, which stood at the edge of river. It was of a monstrous height and was still under construction.

Samantha squinted her eyes to see the tiny human forms lined up at the edge of the floors where the windows had yet to be installed. She slowly shook her head, refusing to look away from them. "You can not do this."

His lips brushed against the shell of her ear, making her quiver. "Watch me."

She jerked away, glaring at the concrete slab that would be a parking lot. He giggled and steered her to an elevator that the construction workers had been so good as to install.

The Joker gave a sharp whistle and three Rottweilers trotted over to them, following closely.

"_Where did they come from?" _

"Where are we going?" Samantha asked.

They stepped inside and he flashed her a smile before pressing a button to take them up.

When the elevator lurched to a stop, Samantha had not been prepared and grabbed onto the Joker's shoulder to keep from falling. He grinned and slung open the cage like door to reveal the floor they had stopped on.

The dogs tripped over each others paws as they squeezed out of the elevator first.

"I bet you're wondering what I did while you were sleeping and I was deprived of your lovely presence, hm?" he asked with a quick rise and fall of his eyebrows.

"I am curious," Samantha admitted.

He entwined his fingers with hers. "Wanna see?"

She glanced down at his hand and quickly lifted her eyes back to his. She gave a slight nod.

The Joker led her over to a window overlooking the river. He used his free hand to point out two ferries at the docks.

"In a few minutes those ferries will be moseying their way across the river, thinking they're about to be safe. But they'll be caught up in the middle of it."

"That's your plan?"

"I don't plan, Samantha, I just…," he chuckled, "_do_ things."

"That's a load of crap. You know you plan things!"

The Joker faced her and slid his other arm around her waist.

"_I didn't plan on this,"_ he thought to himself.

He let go of her hand and joined it with the other around her waist.

"You think you know how my mind…uh, processes things?" he asked.

Samantha turned her eyes to the ferries outside.

"Hey, look at me!"

He felt her jump as she looked back at him. He grabbed her chin and held it tight as he drew his face closer to Samantha's.

"The only way you'd be able to know how I think would be if you were 'mentally unstable,'" he spat the words out with scorn, "yourself. Even then, I doubt you'd be able to keep up."

Samantha reached up and took the hand holding her chin, without breaking eye contact. She held onto his hand and searched his eyes for a shred of sanity….for a little bit of Allan.

"Please…stop this. I'm _begging _you. Let these people go, let the people on the ferries go."

The Joker's gaze went to his hand and how tightly she held it.

"Don't go through with this."

His eyes snapped up to her face and they suddenly grew black. "It's too late for that," he said, jerking his hand away.

"No, it's not!" Samantha shouted.

"When you see what I have set up for this town…this city will be eating out of the palm of my hand," he told her in a dark voice.

"You're crazy!"

She began to walk away from him, just to get some space, not to run away. Her arm was nearly jerked out of its socket and she crashed into him.

The Joker spun Samantha around to face him and clamped both hands onto her shoulders. A low, guttural, growl emitted from his throat as he said, "No, I'm no_t-ah_. I'm not crazy." His tongue flicked over his lips and his grip tightened on her.

"Prove it," Samantha said, wincing.

The Joker glared; staring into her eyes, and breathing heavily with rage.

"Prove it!" she repeated.

He grunted and released her with a rough shove as he turned away. Samantha knew she was pushing her luck, but she was fed up with him and afraid for the patients, which fueled her anger and gave her the courage to speak.

"You can't prove it! You're demented; a psychopath, a lunatic who decided to play Armageddon with a city when playing with his toys got boring!"

The Joker snarled and whirled around and pushed her down driving her to the floor. He straddled her and pressed a knife to her throat.

The three Rottweilers he brought with him tensed and watched them closely. The Joker pointed at her with the knife.

"_Don't _push i_t-ah_, Esmeralda! Because, like you said…I'm psychotic! And I could snap," he snapped his fingers, "like that."

He lowered his arm and licked his lips as he held her eyes with his own. "Samantha," he leaned in and their noses nearly touched, "don't make me hurt you."

Samantha narrowed her eyes, a fire burning inside of them. "I'm going to push my luck over the edge if it means locking you up and ending this lunacy."

They stared at each other in silence until the Joker let out a chuckle. "You see?...That's why I love you," he said and gave the tip of her nose a light tap before jumping to his feet.

Samantha lay on the cold, concrete, slab of a floor, in shock.

Did he really just say that? Did he really say he loved her? No, of course not! Sure he said it, but not that way. Never that way! He couldn't have meant it that way. He was just joking.

She sat up and was hesitant to accept the hand held out to her. She didn't want to go through another one of his outbursts, so she let him help her to stand. She winced from the pain in her spine.

"_Did he even realize what he said? Probably not."_

A low growl was heard from one of the dogs.

"Easy, boys," the Joker told them.

The dogs loosened up and lay down as one, still being watchful.

The Joker took out a cell phone from his coat and walked up to the window, gazing out at the two ferries. Samantha noticed that they had stopped in the middle of the river. "Watch this," he said and dialed a number on the cell phone. He cleared his throat as he pulled out a small notebook with notes scribbled on the paper.

"Tonight, you're all gonna be part of a social experiment. Through the magic of diesel fuel and ammonium nitrate, I'm ready right now to blow you all sky high. If anyone attempts to get off their boat, you all die. Each of you has a remote to blow up the other boat. At midnight, I blow you all up. If, however, one of you presses the button, I'll let that boat live. Sooo, who's it gonna be? Harvey Dent's most-wanted scumbag collection or the sweet and innocent civilians? You choose. Oh, and you might want to decide quickly because the people on the other boat may. Not. Be. Quite. So. Noble."

He hung up the phone and continued to watch the ferries. The Joker licked his lips and chuckled as Samantha made her way to his side. He could faintly make out the look of horror on her face from the reflection on the window glass.

"Are you joking? You're not really going to kill all those people, are you?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer.

He merely glanced at her and went back to staring out the widow. After a minute, he began to pace the floor impatiently.

Samantha realized that all of his attention was focused on the ferries and not her. She slowly began to step away and shuffle towards the elevator. She was half way there when one of the dogs let out a growl.

The Joker looked over his shoulder sharply and smirked. The dogs tensed and growled more at Samantha.

"I suggest you get back over here," the Joker said.

Samantha carefully took one step and the growls became louder. The Joker whistled and they backed off. Samantha made her way back to him.

"They won't do it, Joker."

He looked at her briefly and continued watching the boats.

"They won't blow each other up."

"Then I will," he answered and fished out a detonator from a coat pocket and showed it to her before thrusting it back in. He began pacing again, his eyes wre fixed on the two boats.

"What did you do to Dent?"

"You're mighty talkative tonight."

"I'm curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"But satisfaction brought it back."

The Joker chuckled at her response and briefly made eye contact with her before returning his attention to the ferries.

"I opened his eyes to what's really going on in Gotham City…and now he's out there fixing it." The Joker laughed at what he knew and moistened his lips.

Samantha frowned. "Fixing it?"

He waved his right hand around, motioning towards the city. "He's probably killing the people responsible for what happened to him and his little bunny, Rachel."

"But _you're _ the one responsible."

The Joker scoffed. "After listening to me, he's convinced it was the fault of every single cop in Gotham."

"So you lied to him?"

"No, no, no, no, no, I didn't lie exactly…I just didn't tell him. Every. Little. Detail," the Joker giggled. "You know what's really funny? I gave him the opportunity to kill me. I put a gun in his hand and held it up to my head. You know what he did? He flipped a coin to see whether he should kill me or not! I twisted his mind so much that he had to flip a coin to decide what he should do!" The Joker exploded into hysterics.

Samantha felt her blood boil. "Was that the surprise? Turning one of the few people in Gotham who could actually help this city, who truly cared about this town, against it? Making him turn his back on everything he stood for?" Samantha exclaimed.

The Joker slowly ran his tongue over his bottom lip. His brown eyes were glowing with insanity. "Yeah…and it turned out better than I hoped." His mouth stretched into a smirk.

She turned away and hugged herself. She wanted to shut her eyes and open them to find that this was just another nightmare, but she knew it was all real.

What if she had befriended him in high school? Would he still have turned into the monster before her? Would all this have still happened? How many people would still be alive?

A small pain was beginning to develop in her head. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the discomfort to leave. A laugh made her open them again to see he had his attention focused on the ferries again.

"They've probably worked themselves into a frenzy by now. I wish I had installed cameras! But that's what happens when you don't have too much time on your hands and so many ideas bouncing in your head."

Samantha was glad he hadn't installed cameras, she wasn't sure if she would have been able to handle watching the images.

"This city is mine, they just don't know it yet, but I'll show 'em. They're all the same; every single one of them. Thieves, whores, liars, murders, scam artists, drug dealers, immoral; looking out for numero uno. They think they're different from me, but what's the difference? Sure, I dress up like a clown and wear make-up, but take that away and I'm a guy with scars and a talent for killing people.

"Sooo, what sets them apart from me? Hm? Nothing! And this, uh, this little game is going to prove that! Everyone will realize that we're the same! They'll cross the line and-!"

**"Shut up!" **Samantha shouted, unable to hear anymore of his logic.

The Joker turned to look at her.

She shook her head in disbelief at how different he was from Allan Jordan. "Just…_stop_ it," She said breathlessly.

The Joker grinned and strolled over to her. "Aaaw, don't be upset, Samantha."

He grasped her chin and titled her head up to look at him. "Smile for me…"

There was the sound of a commotion coming from the floors below them. He grabbed Samantha by the arm and led her over to a large tool closet. He opened the door and gestured for her to get inside.

"Get in," he told her as he looked over his shoulder.

"Do what?"

"Get in!" he repeated urgently.

The Joker put his hand on the small of her back and pushed her inside the closet. "Stay put," he ordered.

The Joker quickly shut the door and hurried back to where they had been standing at the windows only a moment ago. Soon Samantha heard the dogs begin to growl. She opened the door a crack and peeked out. She saw the Joker wasn't alone anymore. He turned around to face Batman.

"Ah, you made it, I'm so _thrilled_," he said sarcastically.

"Where's the detonator?" Batman asked immediately.

The Joker cocked his head slightly to the left, not answering. That's when Samantha noticed the water pipe in his hand. "Go get 'im!" he suddenly commanded the dogs.

They took off and headed for Batman, their teeth barred. Batman readied himself. One dog leaped into the air, only to be thrown to the side by Batman. The remaining two tackled him and began to try sinking their teeth into him. Batman blocked a pair of jaws with the armor on his arm.

The Joker quickly paced back and forth, bouncing on his toes impatiently. He wanted to do this himself, he wanted in on the action. The Joker let out a growl and sprinted towards Batman, pipe raised. He leapt onto the Batman and began to eat him over and over with the pipe; deep growls escaping his throat with every impact. He balled up his fist and drove it into Batman's chin.

At that moment, Batman had gotten one leg free and kicked the Joker off of him. He skidded across the floor, air completely gone fro his lungs after the blow. One of the dogs went to attack Batman while he was still down. The dog was thrown over the edge of the floor down to the ground below. Batman picked himself up as quickly as possible.

The Joker had recovered and took two running leaps before launching into the air towards Batman while the vigilante's back was turned. He brought the pipe down onto Batman's back, sending him forward and running through some netting. Batman struggled to disentangle himself as the Joker ran after him. He swung the pipe like a baseball bat and brought Batman down again. He kicked him in the side and pulled out his knife.

The Joker's knee came down on Batman's abdomen, pinning him to the floor. "All the old familiar places," he sang and brought his knife down to pierce his heart.

Batman jerked to the side, receiving the blade in his shoulder instead. He pushed the Joker off and jumped to his feet, quickly throwing the netting to the side.

Batman scanned the area and turned just in time to see the Joker rush at him and deliver another bone-jarring blow with the pipe. The impact sent Batman through a glass window not yet set up like the others and fall onto his back, very close to the edge of the building.

The Joker lost no time in hopping over and pulling the metal setting down onto the Batman's chest, restricting his movements. The Joker straddled him and leaned in close.

"We really should stop this fighting, otherwise we'll miss the fireworks," he sing-songed.

"There won't be any fireworks," Batman choked, struggling to free himself but failing. The clown was stronger than he looked.

The Joker raised his free hand and moved it like he was directing an orchestra. "And. Here. We…Go."

They both fell silent.

Samantha held her breath, listening for the explosion that was sure to come.

Nothing came.

The Joker's smile slowly melted away as he stared at the two ferries out on the water. He turned his head around to look at the clock nearby. It was exactly mid-night, but nothing had happened.

"What were you trying to prove? That deep down, everyone's as ugly as you?" Batman sneered.

The Joker's head snapped back to the ferries, seeming to not have heard him. The Joker threw the pipe behind him with a snarl.

"You're alone," Batman told him.

A minute passed and still no explosion. Samantha breathed a prayer of thanks. She knew they would never bring themselves to do it.

The Joker continued to stare out into the distance. "Can't rely on anyone these days, you gotta do everything yourself; don't we?" the Joker muttered and dug into his coat's inside pocket, pulling out the detonator. "That's okay, I came prepared."

He leaned down on the metal bar across Batman's chest, the remote right in front of his face, taunting him. He pressed the button to ready the device. "It's a funny world we live in. Speaking of which," he finally looked down at Batman and pointed the remote's antenna at his scarred face, "you know how I got these scars?" he asked, smiling.

"No, but I know how you got these!" Batman's gauntlet spikes detached and flew towards the Joker, digging into his shoulder and skimming past his face.

The Joker grunted and leaned back, letting off enough of his weight for the Batman to grab him by his green vest and pull him over the edge of the building. The Joker let out rolls of wild laughter as he fell to certain death.

Samantha's emerald eyes widened and she covered her mouth in shock.

Batman quickly lifted the metal bar off of him, turned to his side, and pulled out a grapple gun. He pulled the trigger, sending a wire down to the Joker and catch around his leg.

The Joker lurched to a stop and his laughs were cut short when he realized he had quit moving. He twisted his thin body around to look up and see the small figure of Batman pulling on the cord.

Samantha sighed in relief as Batman gave one final tug and the Joker came into view.

His purple coat looked like wings as he hung upside down and his pocket watch's golden chain dangled from his pants.

"Oh, youuuu," he drawled. "You just couldn't let me go, could you?"

Batman tied the cord to the metal beams beside him, breathing heavily and thoroughly exhausted.

"This is what happens when an unstoppable force meet an immovable object." He grunted as he tried to keep his body from turning in circles on the wire and to stay facing Batman.

"You truly are incorruptible, aren't you?" He licked his lips and went on. "Huh? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And _I_ won't kill you, because you're just too much fun."

The Joker ran his tongue over his lips again and grunted out a laugh. "I think you and I are destined to do this forever."

"You'll be in a padded cell forever," Batman hissed.

"Maybe we could share one? You know, they'll be doubling up the rate this city's inhabitants are losing their minds."

"This city just showed you that's it's full of people ready to believe in good."

The Joker pointed at Batman. "Until their spirit breaks completely. Until they get a good look at the _real _Harvey Dent, huh, and all the heroic things he's done."

The Joker wheezed out a laugh at the puzzled expression on the visible parts of Batman's face. "You didn't think I'd risk losing the battle for Gotham's soul in a fist fight with you?" He wet his lips and continued smiling. "Nooo, you need an ace-in-the-hole. Mine's Harvey."

Batman narrowed his eyes. "What did you do?"

"I took Gotham's white knight and I brought him down to our level. It wasn't hard, see, madness as you know is like gravity. All it takes is a little _push_!" The Joker thrust his arms out in front of him, causing him to swing back and forth. He started laughing hysterically.

Batman stood and swiftly walked away just as the S.W.A.T team started to climb up the stairs.

The Joker's cackling rang in Samantha's ears. He laughed and laughed and laughed until it sounded like he was in pain, but he kept laughing.

Two S.W.A.T members grabbed him when he swung towards them and pulled him back to the safety of the building. He never stopped laughing as the team pinned him to the floor on his chest and cuffed him. They jerked the Joker to his feet as one of the members scanned the area with his eyes.

The man turned to the Joker. "Where's Nurse Reads? She's the only one we didn't find with the others hostages?" he asked.

The Joker continued to laugh while sneaking an unnoticed glance at the tool closet.

"Where is she?" the officer repeated.

Samantha pushed open the door and ran out. "I'm here!"

Everyone turned to face her. Two officers rushed over and asked if she needed medical attention. She waved them away. "I'm fine."

The Joker was still chuckling softly to himself as the S.W.A.T team led him and Samantha to the elevator and to the ground floor.

Samantha was surprised to see so many police officers, snipers, and S.W. all around her. So much was happening.

The Joker looked up at the moon and a wide grin spread across his face as he chuckled. Some of the officers around him glanced at the moon to see what was so funny but found nothing. His laughing soon grew silent.

Samantha watched as the team led the Joker to a van. He looked over at her and paused. He flashed her a grin before an officer shoved him along. He winked at her and let them put him in the vehicle; locking the doors behind him.

"Sammy!" a voice called.

Samantha turned and was surprised to see Harleen and Alice coming towards her.

"What did I tell you about jumping on buses?" Alice scolded, trying to not let her see the tears in her eyes. She hugged Samantha tightly.

"When we heard that you weren't accounted for with the rest of the staff…." Harleen started then trailed off when she saw the Joker's figure in the van. "Who is this guy? Who's the Joker?" she asked.

Samantha bit her lip. "I don't know," she answered.

And to be honest, she didn't know, because Allan Jordan had never existed. It wasn't his name.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Alice asked.

"He, uh, he…" Samantha remembered he had hit her only once. All the other times were him slinging her around roughly and threatening her with a knife. "He slapped me once," she said to herself out loud.

"I'll kill 'em!" Harleen exclaimed and acted tough as she took a few steps towards the van. Samantha laughed while she took her by the arm and pulled her back.

"No need, Harley. He'll be sent to Arkham for sure."

"That's perfect timing! I'm going to be going to Arkham Asylum a week from now for an internship! If I could become his psychologist I could be really respected and just think of what all that could bring…" Harleen mused.

Samantha remembered how Harleen had blushed and giggled when 'Allan' had talked to her in high school.

"Maybe you shouldn't," she said uneasily.

"Are you joking?" Harley asked. Samantha gave her a look.

"Sorry, wrong word to use, but come on! I'll be famous if I get him as a patient. I could write a book!"

"Yeah, you could call it, 'I Survived the Joker," Alice teased.

"Nah, Sammy should write a book about this! Her experience with the Joker would be a top seller!" Harleen squealed.

Samantha shook her head.

"No, I'd rather not. I want to put this behind me."

"But you can't ignore it. Ignoring this event could cause major mental disorders and impact-."

"Harley! I'm not ignoring it, so you don't have to give me a lecture. I just don't want to dwell on it for long."

Harley looked uncertainly at her friend. "I don't know, Sammy. I think it wouldn't hurt to see somebody-."

"Harley, I'll be fine."

Harleen sighed and shrugged. "Okie-dokie."

Samantha and her friends began to walk away from the construction site and to Alice's car. Samantha glanced over her shoulder and saw the van holding the Joker, was driving away.

The Joker was out of her life for good….or so she thought. Not even a year would go by before the media and newspapers would announce that the Joker had escaped from Arkham Asylum. And he was nowhere close to being finished with Gotham, Batman….or Samantha Reads.

**(Phew! Well, that chapter's over. On to the last one…. Wait… that was the last one! *leaps into air* I finished! I finished the story! Yes! *Joker walks in* "What are you so happy for?" "I finished the book!" "Well then, that means you can start on the next one…..right now." "But-!" "I'll sing." *grumbles as I start working on the next story*)**

**Yeah, my faithful readers, this one is done. The next one 'Love and Chaos' will have its first chapter up some time soon, so keep an eye open for it. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. Let me know what ya thought of this last chapter please, by giving me some reviews. Till we meet again! **


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